West Ham United: Ex-Premier League referee fumes at ‘stupid’ Wolves decision
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has labelled the PGMOL “stupid” after the controversial incident which saw a late Wolves equaliser disallowed against West Ham.
Halsey insisted that, while the officials may understand the laws of the game, they do not understand the game itself, with this decision further evidence of that.
He also explained that Lukasz Fabianski would have had full vision of the ball and would not have saved Max Kilman’s header anyway, questioning why VAR even got involved to make the call.
Speaking live on talkSPORT [8 April, 08:41], Halsey ranted: “It’s all about knowing the game of football. For me, there was nothing wrong with that goal on Saturday for Wolves.
“Being in an offside position in itself is not an offence. If you become involved in active play, interfere with the line of vision of the goalkeeper or interfere with an opponent, it is. For me, none of that happened.
“Fabianski can clearly see, he can clearly move if he wants to move, but that header came at pace and he would not have got that ball. It’s about knowing the game. You can say it’s subjective, but then why has VAR got involved?
“Not one West Ham player complained. It’s the old saying that the referees know the laws of the game but they don’t know football.
“If everybody in football is saying that goal should have been given, while the PGMOL are coming out with stupid statements to say why it wasn’t given, then there’s something drastically wrong.”
Ex-Premier League referee fumes at Wolves v West Ham decision
Wolves defender Kilman saw his late headed goal disallowed after it was judged an offside player was blocking the goalkeeper – despite there being no chance Fabianski would have saved it, as Halsey detailed, causing plenty of drama near the end.
The call has proved divisive, with Jamie O’Hara and Jason Cundy arguing live on talkSPORT as O’Hara insisted the goal should have stood, while Cundy explained that by the letter of the law, the right call was made by the VAR.
Gabby Agbonlahor, meanwhile, fumed at the decision despite dubbing himself “Wolves’ biggest hater” as he admitted he felt sorry for Gary O’Neil after several decisions have gone against Wolves this season.
West Ham fans have understandably been frustrated by the decision which has taken coverage away from what was an impressive victory away from home, but continuous incorrect decisions cannot simply be ignored at this point.
In other West Ham news, Fabrizio Romano has shared a new Kalvin Phillips update.
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