Football facing major rule change after West Ham and Arsenal VAR fiasco

TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say West Ham believed they had salvaged a point when Wilson found the net deep into added time, only for the strike to be disallowed following an extensive review.The deliberation lasted four minutes and 17 seconds, during which referee Chris Kavanagh studied footage on the pitchside monitor no fewer than 17 times before determining that striker Pablo had committed a foul on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.The majority of pundits and analysts concluded that VAR had arrived at the correct decision, though the prolonged nature of the review has strengthened arguments for clearer guidelines on physical contact during set-pieces.West Ham are now demanding a comprehensive explanation from PGMOL and may request access to the audio communications between Kavanagh and VAR official Darren England.Mikel Arteta offered praise for the match officials, describing Kavanagh's intervention as a call from the ref that is very brave, but very consistent with what they've been talking about all season.The Arsenal manager added: When I have to be critical, I have been. LATEST SPORTS NEWS:Arsenal fan appears to be thrown down stairs in explosive incident from West Ham matchTravis Kelce and Taylor Swift devise extraordinary two-wedding planRory McIlroy gives PGA Championship update after major injury scareAnd today I have to praise them, at least for giving the option to a referee to decide, away from the lights and the chaos, to give clarity to him to make the right call.And when you look at the action in that way, it is an obvious error.West Ham head coach Nuno Espírito Santo took a starkly different view, arguing: You look at every corner in the Premier League and something like this is happening, not just today, but on all the pitches. I am talking about the lack of consistency.Jarrod Bowen echoed his manager's frustration: There's lots of holding and grappling that goes on in the box.Are you going to look at those every time and give a penalty? Because that's the only way that is the right way to do it.The controversy has reignited broader concerns about increasingly physical play during corners and free kicks. Liverpool manager Arne Slot earlier this season declared that such tactics had made the Premier League no longer a joy to watch.Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens revealed he was compelled to position himself behind his goal line simply to have space to move, such was the intensity of grappling in the six-yard area during his side's victory at Everton in March. Officials believe decisions have grown more challenging as clubs employ subtle pushing and shoving as marginal gains to evade detection, with penalties for holding having doubled this campaign.The result leaves West Ham in serious danger, sitting one point adrift of safety with 36 points from 36 matches, while Arsenal's victory extended their advantage over Manchester City to five points. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter