Gary Lineker relays IFAB law after Gary O’Neil meltdown over Wolves v West Ham United controversy
West Ham’s 2-1 comeback win at Wolves on 6 April was marred by VAR controversy, and Gary Lineker discussed the IFAB laws behind the decision to disallow the hosts a stoppage-time equaliser.
Speaking after Wolves manager Gary O’Neil said that decisions of that magnitude “have to be better” on Match of the Day, Lineker was sympathetic and said that the IFAB laws were having too much bearing on the outcomes of games.
West Ham responded to a first-half penalty by scoring twice late in the second through Lucas Paqueta from the spot and James Ward-Prowse directly from a corner, but Max Kilman’s last-gasp equaliser was chalked off by VAR, with Tawanda Chirewa in an offside position which restricted Lukasz Fabianski from saving the header.
Following O’Neil’s post-match comments, Lineker said “The law in some ways is as much at fault as perhaps the officials on the day. A law that was brought in by referees at IFAB who’ve kind of taken over our game.”
Hammers have VAR to thank after nervy second-half comeback
O’Neil’s anger at full-time was certainly justified, with Chirewa not directly impeding Fabianski and Kilman’s header being too well-placed in the top-left corner for the goalkeeper to realistically have kept it out either.
West Ham, therefore, were able to come away with three points from Molineux in a game dominated by set-piece goals, the best of which was without a doubt Ward-Prowse’s winner which he swung into the back of the net directly from a corner on the left-hand side.
The Irons stay seventh in the Premier League with that victory, although manager David Moyes will be keen to stress to his players that those two strokes of luck – the wind which carried Ward-Prowse’s corner home and the VAR decision to deny Wolves’ leveller – won’t happen as often as they did this time around.
In other West Ham news, Fulham have entered the race to sign the Hammers’ out of favour Manchester City loanee Kalvin Phillips.
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