Owen Hargreaves disagrees with Dermot Gallagher over controversy in West Ham United v Bournemouth
Dermot Gallagher and Owen Hargreaves are in disagreement over whether or not the first goal for West Ham v Bournemouth should have stood.
The ball appeared to come off Thilo Kehrer’s hand before Kurt Zouma’s effort found the back of the net but as it was not deliberate, it wasn’t given.
Gallagher, a former Premier League referee, believes that the laws were applied correctly but Hargreaves admits it was intentional from the defender in the game that ended 2-0.
Speaking on Premier League Productions (24/10, 20:58), “Did Kehrer score? No, so you couldn’t say it had to be chalked off. Was it deliberate? It can’t be disallowed if it wasn’t. That’s why it was the right call.
Hargreaves argued against it saying, “I think it was clever. I think it was deliberate and it should have been given. Was a crazy call. They have been lucky with that.”
Fortunate
The handball law is extremely confusing and it keeps changing every year so we do not really know what the right call was.
If Gallagher says that it’s about intent and if Kehrer did not score, then it should be allowed, then so be it.
Nobody knows if Kehrer intentionally handled the ball and nobody will know the truth until and unless he comes out and says it.
The referees had to make the call in real time so it’s credit to them for sticking to the laws of the season and it was undoubtedly a big decision made.
Thankfully, West Ham scored another goal so people cannot say that this call cost Bournemouth two points from the game.
They’re now in the top half of the Premier League and need to build on it and target another European finish, although it’s going to be tougher with Newcastle in the mix as well.