Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness disagree over controversial West Ham goal vs Leicester
The decision to allow the late West Ham equaliser at Leicester has led to a disagreement between Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness after the match.
Craig Dawson managed to drag the Hammers level at 2-2 with an injury-time leveller that appeared to go in off his shoulder, then survived a VAR check and rescued a point for David Moyes’ side after they had been second-best for most of the second half.
Discussing the goal on Sky Sports after the game former Liverpool man Carragher said: “God knows what happens if he has a long-sleeved shirt on or how you’d try to work that one out, but for me, I think there’s enough of the shirt… it’s 50-50, it’s in the middle”.
Souness disagreed, saying: “That to me is not 50-50. That picture to me tells me it’s more on the flesh of the West Ham player”.
After Dave Jones relayed a message from the VAR Chris Kavanagh that it was ruled a goal on the pitch and there was not enough evidence to overturn it, the Scot said: “That is majority, for me, on that picture, on the skin”.
The ex-England defender shot back: “It’s not Graeme if you go from the line of his shirt that would go right through the centre of the ball”.
Finally, after Micah Richard’s stepped in to suggest the VAR was right not to rule, an aghast Souness responded: “And you’re a defender…”
Tight call
It was a goal the Irons scarcely deserved after a dreadful second half which should have seen the home side out of sight.
Having been more or less in control after Jarrod Bowen’s early opener, the Hammers handed Leicester a penalty through Aaron Cresswell’s needless handball on the stroke of half-time, and fell apart after the break.
Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal both had miserable nights and between them allowed Ricardo Pereira to put Brendan Rodgers’ side ahead.
That the visitors managed to get into a position for a debate over a late equaliser was a miracle, but Souness was overly upset considering the wording of the rule.
If the “T-Shirt line” is now the key to the handball rule (BBC), it clearly hit enough of Dawson’s shirt for it to be impossible for VAR to overrule.
While it definitely hit his arm, the wording of the rule suggests the call was right, and Moyes will just be happy to escape with a point from a difficult evening.
In other West Ham news, BBC’s Phil McNulty calls this Iron’s actions “senseless” during the game.