Former top referee rules on this controversial West Ham v Newcastle incident | OneFootball

Dermot Gallagher reviews controversial decisions in the Premier League after each round of games, on behalf of Sky Sports.

The former top referee has now given his call on this incident in the West Ham v Newcastle match.

Dermot Gallagher looking at what happened during a key moment in this game at the London Stadium.

The match eventually ending West Ham 3 Newcastle 1.

However, this particular incident happening when Newcastle were 1-0 up.

Incident:

West Ham have a penalty given by referee Robert Jones. However, it is then overturned after VAR direct Jones to go and look at the pitchside monitor, where he agrees he got it wrong and that Malick Thiaw had got a touch on the ball first in his challenge with Bowen.

Dermot Gallagher:

“Yes [right decision made], but I will also say when I first saw it I thought penalty, so I can understand why the referee [Robert Jones] first gave a penalty.

“When I saw the first replay, I knew it would be overturned.”

Former player Jay Boothroyd:

“He has not touched the ball enough, the ball has not even changed speed, it is so minute that it should be given as a penalty, it is a crazy decision.

“You cannot say every time that you touch the ball it is not a penalty, he blocked Bowen from getting to the ball, so it is a penalty!”

My final thoughts

Apart from the ridiculous amount of time that this took to be overturned, for me this is a perfect example of how VAR does work well.

If there had been no VAR as in the past (or even in Newcastle’s League Cup match against Spurs on Wednesday), then this penalty would have been wrongly awarded and not overturned.

Watching the match at the time, you instantly think definitely a penalty.

Then when you see the TV replays, you realise it is definitely NOT a penalty, as Dermot Gallagher says.

I don’t have a clue what Jay Boothroyd is going on about.

The TV replays clearly show that Malick Thiaw gets to the ball first and knocks it away. Bowen never touches the ball, instead, after Thiaw plays it, it is then the West Ham player who collides with the Newcastle player, not the other way round.