Stuart Attwell overheard as West Ham United v Chelsea incident blasted by ex-FIFA official
Former FIFA referee Mark Halsey has blasted the handling of the incident which culminated in Crysencio Summerville being denied a penalty as West Ham United lost to Chelsea.
Summerville appeared to be dragged back by his wrist by the visitors’ Wesley Fofana as the Hammers broke into the area, but on-field official Sam Barrott elected not to award a spot-kick.
VAR Stuart Attwell was then overheard claiming the contact was “fleeting”, to which Halsey has angrily responded on page three of the Sun on Sunday’s sport pullout [22 September].
The ex-FIFA official hit back: “West Ham should have had a first-half penalty. A [Premier League] statement said Fofana on Summerville was not ‘sustained holding’.
“TV companies heard Stuart Attwell say contact was ‘fleeting’. Neither ‘fleeting’ nor ‘sustained holding’ are mentioned in the laws of the game – it’s a penalty.
“VAR did not get involved but they should have overruled Sam Barrott.”
West Ham United robbed of a penalty
West Ham have every right to feel aggrieved with this particular incident. As Halsey points out, neither the Premier League’s nor Attwell’s reasoning against the award of a penalty are referenced in the laws of the game.
It smacks of the inconsistency we see week-in, week-out across England’s highest level, the so-called greatest league on the planet. We do not envy officials; we certainly want better, and more consistent application of the rules.
Halsey has been at the top of the profession and is therefore qualified to wade in on the situation. How a penalty was not given is frankly mind-blowing, and Fofana will know he has had an absolute touch.
He and his Chelsea defence went on to keep a clean sheet and took a convincing 3-0 win back across London, although Summerville’s penalty appeal happened 28 minutes into the game with the Irons holding a two-goal deficit.
Incidents like these dictate high-stakes football matches, and the standard simply must improve.
In other West Ham news, Chris Sutton brands the Hammers a “downgrade” from Celtic.
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