Aston Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor has blasted VAR’s decision-making in a key moment during the Villans 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.
Aston Villa were held to a 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Sunday afternoon on a day that VAR took centre stage.
The Villans extended their lead in the top-four race by another point following Tottenham’s defeat yesterday however, Unai Emery will be relieved to have seen his side leave with a draw after an overall disappointing display.
Despite dominating possession, Villa failed to impose themselves at the London Stadium to the standard seen on Thursday night against Ajax, as West Ham continued to threaten in the final third.
Goals from Michail Antonio and Nicolo Zaniolo saw the game end level in the capital although the ball hit the back of the net more than twice during the contest.
VAR took centre stage during Aston Villa’s draw with West Ham
The main talking point of the game will be Tomas Soucek’s last-minute winner being chalked off after a lengthy VAR check.
The London Stadium erupted as Soucek looked to have given the Hammers the lead at the death however, VAR rightly ruled the goal out due to handball.
It wasn’t the first time in the fixture that VAR intervened to rule out one of David Moyes’ side’s goals, as Antonio was denied his brace just after the interval as the ball was deemed to strike his elbow.
While West Ham will feel somewhat deflated after being denied two goals, Villa will also have a strong question over a decision that went against them in the first half.
Gabby Agbonlahor blasts one key VAR decision
At 0-0, the Villans found themselves on the attack through Leon Bailey, whose cross struck the hand of Emerson to see the Villa players appeal for a penalty.
VAR took a glance at the passage of play that saw the West Ham defender handle the ball however, the decision was made to refuse a penalty in Villa’s favour due to the proximity of the player to the ball.
It’s fair to say that club legend Gabby Agbonlahor was unhappy with the decision of the officials as he took to Twitter to share his frustrations.
“How’s that not a penalty? Embarrassing!”
The officiating this season and the intervention of VAR has induced a lot of debate with a negative narrative, with Villa unhappy in this instance as the ball clearly touched the hand of Emerson.
During the contest, BBC pundit Danny Gabbidon admitted that he thought the ball did touch the defender’s hand however, saw it as a “difficult” decision for the referee to call.
“It did look like it hit the hand from here but it’s a difficult one for the referee to give with it being so close.”
Like so many matches this season, the game was filled with questionable VAR decisions, with the points being shared perhaps the best result in the end for both sides.
