ARSENAL have been left fuming after Tomas Soucek scored a controversial goal during West Ham’s 2-0 win.
The goal was reviewed by VAR for three minutes and 22 seconds as officials checked if the ball had gone out of play before Jarrod Bowen passed to Soucek to score.
Replays could not show definitive proof as Bowen’s body blocked the ball from the main camera angle.
The camera from the opposite side of the pitch was also unhelpful and that meant VAR told the referee to stick with his on-pitch decision, which was a goal.
Arsenal suffered a similar fate in their 1-0 defeat at Newcastle earlier this season.
On that occasion Joe Willock was judged to have kept the ball in play by a matter of inches, with Anthony Gordon eventually bundling in his cross.
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The incident sparked a meltdown from Mikel Arteta who brandished the officials “embarrassing” for allowing the goal to stand.
Arsenal published a letter after the match calling on the PGMOL to “address the standard of officiating”.
Gunners fans are fuming again with some claiming they have been “robbed” by VAR.
One Gooner said: “VAR hates Arsenal. Clearly out. Happened twice this season.”
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Another added: “The ball was out, it was completely past the post, VAR then moved it a frame forward when it was back in play. Scandalous!”
A third wrote: “Same mistake VAR made against Newcastle. Then what is the use of VAR for crying out loud. Ball out of play 😡”
Arteta’s remarks after the Newcastle match were investigated by the FA and the Spaniard could have been hit with a two-match ban.
But he escaped punishment after it was found he used the Spanish word “desgracia”, which means “misfortune”, in his post-match press conference, rather than “disgrace”.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb later admitted the officials got two decisions wrong in the match – but neither related to Toon’s winner.
Arsenal fans complained Joelinton had pushed Gabriel moments after the ball was kept in play, but Webb only suggested referee Stuart Attwell was wrong in his decision not to red card Kai Havertz and Bruno Guimaraes.
At half-time during the West Ham game Gunners legend Thierry Henry called for more cameras to be introduced which would have given a birds-eye view of the incident.
He said: “Well that is the second time for us, Newcastle away. But if you want to help the referees to have the right angle, if you want to know the ball is out you have to be above the ball.
“That is the only way you can know if the ball is out or not.
“We are in 2023 soon 2024 and we still don’t have a camera that is above, it’s too many times where you don’t know if the ball is out or not.
“So can we have a camera that can be above that can see if the ball is out or not, if not it is just impossible to see it.”
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg insisted the goal had to stand as officials could not prove the ball went out.
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He said: “There’s no other decision the officials can give.
“The on-field decision is a goal. We cannot be 100 per cent certain that the ball has gone out. As the ball has to be clearly over the line, there’s no conclusive evidence.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
