West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen criticised the decision to disallow Callum Wilson’s stoppage-time equaliser after Arsenal secured a 1-0 Premier League win at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Leandro Trossard scored the decisive goal late in the second half before Wilson appeared to rescue a point in added time after Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya spilled the ball inside the box.
Referee Chris Kavanagh initially awarded the goal, but VAR intervened and seant him to the pitch-side monitor. Kavanagh then overturned the decision and ruled that Pablo had fouled Raya during the scramble.
The review lasted several minutes and triggered angry reactions from West Ham players and supporters inside the stadium.
“A real blow. We thought we’d done so well to get back in it and had it taken away from us,” Bowen said.
“When you look at the screen for five minutes you’ll find something, a lot of grappling and a lot of holding. Do I think it’s the right decision? No.
“Where’s the consistency? As a fan you don’t want to celebrate a goal and then wait eight minutes and it’s taken off you.”
West Ham also appealed for fouls by Declan Rice and Trossard during the same phase of play. Bowen compared the decision with an earlier incident involving Tomas Soucek against Brentford.
“I don’t want to sound bitter but last week we had one with Tomas Soucek held at Brentford and we didn’t get a penalty. But then you can’t give one like that today,” he said.
Nuno Espirito Santo also questioned the consistency of officiating around physical contact at set-pieces.
“The way the game finished, we’re all upset of course,” Nuno said.
“Due to the recent seasons it’s been happening and even the referees don’t know what is a foul, what isn’t a foul. It creates a lot of doubt and speculation around it.”
The defeat left West Ham inside the relegation zone, one point behind Tottenham, who still hold a game in hand.
