Callum Wilson breaks his silence on disallowed goal

West Ham striker Callum Wilson has broken his silence on his controversial disallowed goal against Arsenalwhich may ultimately prove decisive in both Premier League title fight and fight against relegation.

Wilson looked set to earn a 1-1 draw at West Ham and hand the initiative in the title race back to Manchester City when he fired in after Arsenal failed to clear a 95th-minute corner at the London Stadium last Sunday.

A point would have served as a huge boost in the Hammers’ fight against relegation, but after a lengthy VAR review in which referee Chris Kavanagh was instructed to consult his pitchside monitor, the goal was disallowed for a foul by Pablo on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.

Pablo was deemed to be preventing Raya from getting the ball into the penalty area by placing his hand in front of Raya’s chest and holding his left arm. However, the decision, which earned Arsenal a 1-0 win that sent them five points clear of City at the summit, left West Ham fuming.

Although replays clearly showed Pablo pressing his arm against Raya’s chest and holding his arm, there were also several possible fouls by Arsenal players as they defended their pitch. Declan Rice held Konstantinos Mavrapanos and, perhaps more pertinently, Leandro Trossard had both arms around Pablo’s waist as he moved to attack the ball.

The published VAR audio revealed that VAR Darren England had instructed Kavanagh to look into both those incidents and the foul on Raya. However, Kavanagh dismissed the potential fouls on the West Ham players as « nothing » and disallowed the goal.

West Ham lodged a formal complaint with the PGMOL, although the head of the refereeing committee, Howard Webb, praised Kavanagh for sanctioning a « clear and obvious offence ».

Wilson: West Ham’s equalizer should have stood

Wilson, however, is adamant the goal should have stood, pointing to potential fouls by Trossar and Rice and the inconsistency in how such incidents have been adjudicated throughout the season.

« For me it’s against us, you mean it’s a foul? Probably, » Wilson told Sky Sports. “But of course there are incidents that happened during the season that are similar.

« I just think if there’s consistency then there’s no complaints from anybody and I think with this particular incident five seconds before it obviously there are other fouls. So if you’re going to take one out, you’re going to have to take them all out. I think he probably should have just let it play out and thought it was just bags in the box and that’s what it is. But it shouldn’t have been.

« I’ll say yes (it should have stayed) because I scored the goal for one. But for two, we see a lot of teams these days doing a similar situation in the box, blocking goalkeepers.

« We analyzed Arsenal’s standards before the game and there was a lot going on there. It’s not just saying they do it, everyone does it. »

As a result of the controversy, Webb said there will be an analysis of whether more can be done in calling fouls in standard situations.

« This season has been a bit more unique than previous ones in terms of the amount of contact in the box and that really creates a challenge for the referees, » he explained.

« We’ll certainly continue to consult with all the people I mentioned earlier about the type of play they want to see because we’ve seen more participation from coaches putting players in those areas looking for those marginal gains. »

West Ham are two points behind Tottenham, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Leeds United a day after the Hammers lost at Arsenal, with two games in hand in the battle to avoid the third relegation spot.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men visit Wilson’s old side Newcastle United on Sunday, two days before Spurs make the short trip to London rivals Chelsea.