Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Rio Ferdinand baffled Chelsea weren't given penalty vs West Ham after Tomas Soucek 'save'
Chelsea were denied a penalty by VAR in their draw with West Ham.
West Ham United v Chelsea in pictures
Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand was surprised and joked that West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek made a "great save" as Chelsea were angered that they did not get a penalty in their 1-1 draw with the Hammers on Saturday. With the game edging towards a tie, Conor Gallagher's shot hit the arm of Soucek but the referee and VAR opted against awarding a spot kick.
Ferdinand joked that it was good goalkeeping from Soucek as his intervention prevented a late goal. "Well I was happy the referee and VAR and didn’t see it, but he more or less saved it," Ferdinand told BT Sport.
"It was a great save. Gallagher hits one with his left foot on the edge of the box, and from the next angle here you can see no wonder why these players in Chelsea shirts are going crazy. He gets down really well to his left, what a save that is. I can’t believe that’s not been given. It’s unbelievable. It’s lucky."
Former Premier League referee Peter Walton explained the call and was surprised that the referee was not asked to look at the VAR monitor. "Well the law is quite clear, it actually says about unnaturally bigger, making that area of the ball to strike, and the VAR clearly thinks that the arm is in a natural position there, going down to break his fall," he said.
"When you look at it closely and you analyse it almost in slow motion, you can see that the ball is past his knee and then he decides to put his arm there. For me, I think that’s a deliberate contact, and I’m disappointed the VAR didn’t give the opportunity for the referee to go and have a second look at it."
Ferdinand was "delighted" that Walton had agreed with him on this rare occasion, though Chelsea will feel they were denied an opportunity to seal a crucial three points. "Well I’m delighted, Peter, actually, myself, but I agree with Peter - it’s a definite stonewall penalty and I don’t see how you can’t give that," Ferdinand added.
DON'T MISS
Man Utd facing 'worst possible outcome' as GMP drop Mason Greenwood charges
Four excellent managerial options for Leeds after Victor Orta suffers triple setback
Gary Neville has 'sympathy' for Man City after Premier League charges
Soucek makes a great save from Conor Gallagher.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 11, 2023
"Even watching that afterwards, the human eye tells you that’s a penalty. Joe’s perfectly right, the distance between Gallagher, the player who takes the shot, and Soucek, is one of the key elements."
Under new PGMOL chief Howard Webb, VAR has been involved in fewer decisions but Walton feels that at the London Stadium the wrong call was made. "Howard [Webb] has brought in a new regime where transparency about decision-making is being made more public these days. Cast your mind back to only a few weeks ago in the Manchester derby - Marcus Rashford’s offside goal - when we analysed it by law it was the correct decision to give a goal," Walton added.
"But Howard came out and said actually what does football want? Looking at it again, he said that would probably be penalised, likewise if you fast forward to today, with the law you could almost defend the player there by saying his arm was in a natural position, but really football, I think, as a community would want that given as a penalty kick. As a former Premier League referee, I think that was the wrong decision today and it should have been a penalty kick."