Credit: Manh Tung, Breaking Media

Declan Carr

Mon 4 May 2026 17:10, UK

Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd were on opposite sides on the argument over controversy in West Ham United‘s 3-0 loss to Brentford.

The scoreline did not reflect the game and Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side had chances to make the game much closer.

They had a claim for a penalty denied when Pablo was taken down in the box in the second half, which could have affected the result.

Yehor Yarmoliuk’s clumsy slip went unpunished by referee Craig Pawson and VAR, meaning that the Hammers did not get a spot kick.

West Ham will be ruing the decision, as it could have given them a route back into the game at the Gtech Community Stadium on 2 May.

Why did Gallagher and Bothroyd not agree on the Brentford vs West Ham controversy?

West Ham appealed for the penalty, but their desperate claims went without gratification as the officials deemed it accidental.

Former Premier League referee Gallagher agreed with the call live on air.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch on 4 May, he said: “He goes over and the Brentford player is on the floor.

“It happens in a football match, people come together. No [not a penalty].

“The West Ham player goes into him. I think he slips and the West Ham player goes over him. I still don’t think it’s a penalty.”

However, his co-host and ex-Arsenal forward Bothroyd, did not and could not believe it was not awarded in the Irons’ favour.

He said: “We’re going to disagree on this one. It’s a penalty all day.

“Whether he’s slipped or not, it’s a coming together.

“The player is running to the ball, has gone there, controlled it, bad touch, and he’s going after it, and Pablo has been stopped from getting to the ball because Yarmoliuk slipped into him.

“Whether it’s an accident or not, he’s taken a player down who is going to the ball. It’s a penalty.”

What did Keith Hackett say on the matter?

Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett believes that it was a penalty and the E20 outfit can feel hard done by the fact that it was not given in their favour.

Speaking exclusively to West Ham Zone, he said: “This was a careless challenge and should have resulted in the award of a penalty kick to West Ham United.

“VAR Tony Harrington should have intervened and instructed the referee Craig Pawson to review the challenge on the pitchside monitor.”

Hackett is spot on, the VAR should have at least looked at it and recommended Pawson look at the screen, especially given the implications on the survival race.

If Nuno’s side are relegated by a margin of a point or two, surely scrutiny will be placed on the lack of action on the matter from the officiating team.

Ultimately, they can’t blame it on one single decision if they do go down to the Championship, but it could be looked back on as a potentially pivotal moment in the campaign, as they may have had a chance to come back with the momentum shift.

The fact that the Sky Sports pundits could not agree on the decision probably proves that it was a difficult one, and can’t be held against Pawson and his officials.