Howard Webb reacts to David Coote controversy in West Ham United win over Manchester United
Howard Webb believes the West Ham United penalty call in their Premier League game against Manchester United at the London Stadium was “misread” by VAR.
The call came in the dying embers of their clash on 27 October when Matthijs De Ligt seemed to kick his leg into Danny Ings, which brought the Englishman down in the box.
On-field referee David Coote waved away the initial calls but after being asked to look at the VAR monitor, his decision was promptly changed.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Mic’d Up in quotes relayed by BBC Sport (13 November), Webb shared why he didn’t believe the Dutchman’s challenge on Ings was worthy of a penalty.
“I thought it was a misread by the VAR,” he said. “A VAR that is normally really talented and reliable but gets uber-focused, in this situation, on De Ligt’s leg.
“His leg coming through onto Danny Ings, not making any contact with the ball. The ball is already past De Ligt as he makes contact with Danny Ings – and the VAR sees that as a clear foul.
“I think he was too focused on that aspect. I don’t think he should have got involved.
“I think this is a situation where we would leave the on-field decision as it is, probably whichever way it is called. On balance, I don’t think it is a penalty kick.”
West Ham United were lucky against Manchester United
In all the games West Ham have taken part in this season, it feels like their clash against the Red Devils at the end of October was one of their luckiest.
Their season has been full of many ups and downs thus far and with the constant scrutiny around Julen Lopetegui, it was likely a relief for the Spaniard to take all three points against the Red Devils.
Of course, Man United’s loss against the Hammers ended Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Old Trafford, but it felt like that was a long time coming.
The three points West Ham gained from the clash eased some of the pressure on Lopetegui but there is a growing feeling the Spaniard will inevitably be sacked.
There’s plenty of time for things to turn around for Lopetegui’s men of course but by the end of the season, if things continue not to go their way like their 0-0 draw with Everton, the Hammers may be looking back at their 2-1 win over the Red Devils rather fondly.
In other West Ham news, Emerson will surely be sweating about his starting XI spot if the Hammers sign Archie Brown in January.
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