The Premier League have issued a statement explaining why West Ham were awarded a stoppage-time penalty against Manchester United, which Jarrod Bowen converted to snatch a 2-1 victory.
Matthijs de Ligt protested furiously as he claimed that there was very little contact between himself and substitute Danny Ings. But after a lengthy VAR check, referee David Coote pointed to the spot.
There was a coming together between the two players inside the penalty area as the ball bobbled up between them, before Ings fell to the floor following the challenge by De Ligt.
Coote initially did not award a penalty but was recommended to take another look at the incident by VAR, before checking several close-ups of the incident and changing his mind on the matter.
And the Premier League match centre has written why, stating: “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’ lower leg and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned his original decision and awarded a penalty.”
De Ligt’s leg did appear to miss the ball as he collided with Ings, before United cleared it away, but his team-mates and Erik ten Hag were up in arms having lost out on a point at the London Stadium.
De Ligt continued to explain to the referee that the ball also hit Ings’ hand, at what he felt was before he made contact with the striker, which could have negated the foul. But his pleas fell on deaf ears.
It was a frustrating afternoon for United in London, where they have won just twice on their last 18 trips to the capital, as they should have been out of sight in the first half.
Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford all squandered good chances, before substitute Crysensio Summerville stole in at the back post to score the game’s opening goal.
Casemiro equalised in the 81st minute with a header from close range, which the visitors thought was going to be enough to take a point from the match, only for Bowen to slot a contentious spot-kick past Andre Onana.
There was a similar late controversy in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Newcastle at the same time, when substitute Christopher Nkunku was brought down by Dan Burn. However, after looking at the monitor, the referee overruled his on-field call and insisted that no foul was made.
The match centre explained: “The referee awarded a penalty to Chelsea for a foul by Burn on Nkunku. The VAR deemed that no foul was committed and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned the original decision and play restarted with a drop ball.”
