Hammers shook over Prem’s longest ever VAR check, leaving manager Moyes seething
DAVID MOYES has expressed his frustration at West Ham’s bad luck with the referees after enduring the longest ever VAR check in the Premier League.
The Hammers had an injury-time winner against Aston Villa ruled out by VAR, leaving Moyes to face referee Jarred Gillett at full-time after conceding a fourth handball decision against them in ten days.
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In total, the stoppage time check lasted a whopping five minutes and 37 seconds, a new record that surpassed the five minutes it took to rule out a Jay Rodriguez goal for Burnley at Bournemouth last season.
Referee Gillett and VAR Tony Harrington ruled that Tomas Soucek had handled the ball deliberately before Jarrod Bowen handed it in. If the handball had been ruled accidental, the goal would have stood.
Against Villa, two of the home side’s goals were disallowed for handball after a check on either side by Mohammed Kudus who fired one at a second after the whistle blew for a foul on Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez by Antonio.
It comes after a controversial call not to award West Ham a late penalty for handball against Sander Berge last Sunday, with a similar incident taking place in their first leg against Freiburg.
Moyes said: “We think they are goals but VAR decides, not us.
“Burnley last week, Freiburg last week, two today. They’ve all gone against us in handball situations, so it’s hard to take.
“You have VAR, so if VAR thinks it’s right, they have the chance to look at things, so they have to be right.
“Football people see things differently. Maybe that’s why I see some things differently.
“I’m sure you might think that some of them are hitting people’s arms and they are, and if that’s the rule then we have to stick to the rule.
“But last week we had two that hit people’s arms, and not one of them went our way. Not one.”
Moyes, who said he will not discuss the incidents with referees boss Howard Webb, added: “You can contact Howard yourself and request the results.”
A late winner follows Michael Antonios opener and Nicolo Zaniolo’s equalizer would have made it three Prem wins from four games for the Hammers and strengthened their European charge.
Zaniolo has not started a Premier League game in 2024 but made a huge impact from the bench and ensured Villa did not suffer back-to-back league defeats.
Boss Unai Emery said: “I’m very happy for Nicolo, hopefully we can keep him in this mood for the rest of the season.
“When they scored the plan changed and in the second half we did better than in the first half.
“We dominated, scored the goal and tried to win the match. It’s a draw, but the result is good for us.”