- Wolves were denied an equalizer against West Ham after a controversial VAR call
- Gary O’Neil was furious with the decision after their 2-1 defeat to the Hammers
- Jurgen Klopp has the eye of the tiger! He hasn’t seemed so confident since 2019. Listen to the It’s all Kicking Off podcast
Wolves thought they had grabbed a late equalizer in their Premier League clash with West Ham but Max Kilman’s header was disallowed in a decision that left both stunned and angry.
Gary O’Neil was beside himself after the match and raged about the VAR call, calling it ‘an outrageous decision’. Horrible. Horrible.’
Wolves substitute Tawanda Chirewa was in an offside position, in close proximity to Hammers keeper Lukasz Fabianski, when Kilman headed into the net.
Regardless of Chirewa’s position, it was unlikely that Fabianski could have saved the Wolves skipper’s effort from so close.
However, according to the EredivisieAccording to the rules of the game, Chirewa ‘prevented an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of sight’.
Max Kilman’s header in the 99th minute was ruled out for offside as Tawanda Chirewa, who was in an offside position, interfered with play.
Referee Tony Harrington was advised to review the incident on the field monitor as the decision was subjective
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Yet the question of whether Fabianksi could have made a save fell into the realm of subjectivity and required referee Tony Harrington to watch the incident on the pitch monitor and ultimately rule that the goal should not count.
Wolves had taken a 33rd minute lead at Molineux on Saturday when Pablo Sarabia successfully converted his penalty after Rayan Ait-Nouri was blocked in the penalty area.
David Moyes’ side hit back in the 73rd minute with a penalty of their own through Lucas Paqueta before James Ward-Prowse’s corner found its way past Jose Sa for the eventual winner.
The disallowance of Kilman’s goal in the 99th minute meant the home side remained in 11th place in the Premier League, ending their faint hopes of European qualification.
“I honestly can’t think of an explanation.” O’Neil said. “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.”
Gary O’Neil struck the decision to rule out Wolves’ late equalizer in the 2-1 defeat to West Ham
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.’