‘Scandalous. Terrible. Horrendous’: Gary O’Neil RAGES as Wolves fall victim to another controversial VAR decision with late equaliser against West Ham ruled out
Gary O’Neil railed against VAR’s decision to rule out Max Kilman’s stoppage-time equalizer for Wolves after their 2-1 defeat at home to West Ham on Saturday.
James Ward-Prowse scored straight from a corner after 85 minutes to give the visitors the lead, but there was more late drama at Molineux.
Kilman’s header was cleared after a VAR check because Tawanda Chirewa was in an offside position and hampered play by blocking Hammers goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
However, the Wolves boss believes referee Tony Harrington’s decision was the wrong one – claiming it was backed by his West Ham counterpart David Moyes, as well as the shot-stopper in question.
I spoke to Sky Sports after the final whistleO’Neil said: ‘My view, David Moyes’ view, Fabianski’s view, is that it is an outrageous decision. Horrible. Horrible. I do not understand.
Gary O’Neil struck the decision to rule out Wolves’ late equalizer in the 2-1 defeat to West Ham
Max Kilman scored a header in stoppage time, but the equalizer was disallowed due to obstruction
Wolves’ Tawanda Chirewa was judged for offside and interfered with the goalkeeper
‘Honestly, I can’t think of an explanation. One of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen.’
He confronted the referees at the whistle, but said he was not calm enough after the match to receive an official story, adding: “Any explanation will not help us.”
O’Neil explained: ‘The only way he can influence the goalkeeper is if he can influence how he can move, which he isn’t, and if he can influence his vision, which he doesn’t.
‘If you look from the side, Fabianski can clearly see the ball above Tawanda’s head. Terrible decision.’
He said their play in the first half was ‘excellent’ as they took the lead thanks to Pablo Sarabia’s penalty in the 33rd minute.
“Fantastic for the boys to put in that performance with what we have at our disposal,” O’Neil said.
However, he accepted they were struggling when West Ham switched to man-to-man play after the break, slamming home ‘two crazy goals’ they conceded.
O’Neil said it was ‘incredible’ that Wolves lost after a dominant first-half performance
He said West Ham’s David Moyes and Lukasz Fabianski also disagreed with the decision
In December, Wolves fans displayed anti-VAR banners during the away match against Arsenal
He summed it up by noting, “It’s unbelievable how we lost that football game today. Really disappointing.’
Wolves, who are currently 11th in the Premier League after Saturday’s games, travel to Nottingham Forest next weekend, before a home game against Arsenal seven days later.
O’Neil previously sought an explanation for the decisions against Wolves in the 1-1 FA Cup draw with Brighton, arguing that two Bees players should have been sent off in the January match.
In December, Wolves fans displayed anti-VAR banners at Arsenal after claims by O’Neil that poor decisions by officials had cost his side seven points.