English football’s refereeing chief Howard Webb says the decision to award West Ham United a penalty in their controversial 2-1 victory over Manchester United in October was a mistake.
During the latter stages of the game at the London Stadium on October 27, West Ham won a penalty after Matthijs de Ligt was judged to have fouled Max Kilman, with Jarrod Bowen converting from the spot in the 92nd minute to give the hosts a 2-1 win.
The penalty was not initially awarded by referee David Coote but VAR Michael Oliver recommended his on-field colleague review the incident on the pitch-side monitor.
“I thought it was a misread by the VAR,’ Webb said on the latest edition of Match Officials Mic’d Up. “A VAR that’s normally really talented and reliable but gets uber-focused in this situation on De Ligt’s leg.
“His leg coming through onto Danny Ings, not making any contact with the ball. The ball’s already past De Ligt as he makes contact with Danny Ings.
“And the VAR sees that as a clear foul. I think he was too focused on that aspect. I don’t think he should have gotten involved.
“I think this is a situation where we’d leave the on-field decision as it is, probably whichever way it’s called. On balance, I don’t think it’s a penalty kick. I would prefer no foul being given, no penalty.”
The defeat proved costly for the then-United manager Erik ten Hag, who was sacked the next day.
The Dutchman confirmed after the match he spoke to Coote about the decision, which he told BBC Sport was “unfair and unjust”.
“But the decision is made,” Ten Hag said. “There’s no way back and that’s football. That’s the third time I have felt injustice in the season and it has a big impact on our team and on our scores and where we are in the table. It’s not right.”
Ten Hag’s successor, Ruben Amorim, will take charge of his first United game on November 24 against Ipswich Town.
(James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
