Dermot Gallagher reacts to West Ham United v Fulham controversy, ‘Amazing’
Max Kilman’s disallowed first-half goal for West Ham United against Fulham came via an “amazing” live call, Dermot Gallagher has said.
Speaking on Sky Sports News’ Ref Watch (16 January, 11:20am), Gallagher praised on-field referee Darren Cann for spotting Kilman in an offside position before he’d headed in from a Hammers free-kick.
While a lengthy VAR deliberation took place to ratify the decision after the ball had hit the net, Cann’s initial call was proven to be correct, but the Irons weren’t deterred and had soon raced into a 2-0 lead.
Former Premier League referee Gallagher said: “It’s an amazing decision by Darren Cann. He called this in real time – look at that. Kilman is given as offside, and if he touches it he’s without a doubt interfering with play.
“If it’s the defender that touches it, the argument is that he’s interfering with the opponent – either way it’s going to be disallowed.”
Max Kilman controversy proves to be key moment for West Ham
Although Kilman being half a yard beyond the last defender looked to have cost the Irons, with Fulham well on top at the time, his disallowed goal proved to be a turning point for the game’s momentum.
Barely five minutes after the defender’s goal was ruled out, Carlos Soler had capitalised on Andreas Pereira’s loose ball to open the scoring, before Tomas Soucek swept home the second two minutes later.
Kilman may have had a less-than-impressive evening at the other end of the pitch, losing his man for both of Fulham’s goals, but the impetus he provided sent Graham Potter’s side on their way to victory.
Hammers fans already have enough valid complaints about their vantage points for watching games at the London Stadium, thus having to sit and wait for a lengthy, needless VAR decision is less than ideal.
It’s clear that while the Irons rectified some of their own problems by hiring Potter in Julen Lopetegui’s place last week, the Premier League are still some way off when it comes to trusting their referees.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are leading the race to sign a highly-rated star plying his trade north of the border this season.
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