Crikey me, this is horrendous. The decision to give West Ham a penalty that they won the game from – and could cost Erik ten Hag his job – is one of the worst I have ever seen. I cannot see how Matthijs de Ligt was adjudged to have fouled Danny Ings.
I am struggling to even put this into words. It is bizarre – I am stunned. Actually, it is worse than bizarre. A park referee would not even give this as a penalty. Ten Hag has every right to be furious.
It is not a clear and obvious error for David Coote to give no penalty. What on earth has Michael Oliver even seen, as the VAR?
It goes back to what I have spoken about in the past, about referees and hierarchy. Everyone says Oliver is the No 1 referee in the country, and Coote is probably eight, nine or 10 in the list. I am not saying he is subservient, that would be the wrong choice of words, but is Coote essentially just taking Oliver’s word for it? Is he working on a preconceived idea that Oliver must be right all the time?
"We were FAR better than the opponent" "injustice" 💬
Erik ten Hag reacts to Manchester United's 2-1 defeat to West Ham 😮 pic.twitter.com/Ak2NNHXfPN
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 27, 2024
The Premier League released a statement that said: “The referee did not award a penalty to West Ham for a challenge by De Ligt on Ings. The VAR deemed there was sufficient contact on Ings’s lower leg and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned his original decision and awarded a penalty.”
There seems to be no explanation about the thought process that has gone into this.
Jamie O’Hara, discussing the incident on Sky Sports News, said: “That was re-refereeing the game. The on-field referee could see it, he didn’t give it. There was not enough contact.
“That was not a proper foul. It’s just a bit of contact in the box. The ball was bouncing and it wouldn’t have made any difference to where that ball was going.
“That was not clear and obvious. That was not a massive error.”
This is correct. A nonsensical decision – which could have major implications.
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