West Ham vs Chelsea

[Joshref]

Penalty for the handball there if anyone is watching?

 

[David F]

Yeah that’s a penalty - you can’t use the “falling” argument if you’re doing it to save a shot…

 

[Joshref]

Well there’s something you never hear, Peter Walton disagrees with the decision

 

[RustyRef]

Yeah, that's a clear penalty, he knew exactly what he was doing.

Whether it clears the clear and obvious bar is something only PGMOL will know though. Interesting that the commentator said that Neil Swarbrick is the head of VAR at PGMOL. No idea if he was right or not, but I'd assumed that when he actually became active as a VAR he would have had to give up that role. If he is still the boss that raises questions about accountability, who manages the manager.

 

[Mooseybaby]

No comment about the non-penalty decision.

The VAR decision for West Ham's disallowed winner seemed to take an age for what appeared a straight forward decision.

 

[es1]

No ifs or buts. That is a penalty.

 

[Mr Dean]

I think once the on field referee doesn't give a penalty kick, it doesn't quite meet the clear and obvious threshold to be overturned through VAR

 

[MattTheRef]

Is this the soucek “save”?

Hits his knee for me…. *no connection to either club fwiw

 

[RustyRef]

Is this the soucek “save”?

Hits his knee for me…. *no connection to either club fwiw

It 100% hit his arm. The only debate is whether his arm was in an unnatural position, or whether he was entitled to have it there as it would have supported him as he fell to the floor.

 

[MattTheRef]

It 100% hit his arm. The only debate is whether his arm was in an unnatural position, or whether he was entitled to have it there as it would have supported him as he fell to the floor.

Sorry can’t see it. Still seeing it as his knee, the ball goes in the direction that you would expect with the angle his knee slid in from. It bounces up

https://twitter.com/x/status/1624552618541342720

Any other angles that prove this 100%?

 

[es1]

I thought you were taking the p*ss...I may have been wrong!

 

[RustyRef]

From the angle shown on TV, which was wider to the right, it was definitely the arm.

 

[Peter Grove]

Definitely the arm and it definitely wasn't there to support him as he fell, he sticks his arm out and to the side towards the ball, in order to save it (IMHO). If he was a keeper it would have been seen as a brilliant save and not in any way accidental or a natural consequence of his body position.

It seems so deliberate and blatant to me, that I can't believe it doesn't meet the C&O criterion.

 

[MattTheRef]

So can anyone post the angle that is conclusive? I’ve not seen one anywhere

 

[Peter Grove]

As is usually the case, posting a still, or even a series of stills, will not give you the full picture.

But when you watch video with the angle that is looking towards the goal, you can clearly see that the ball goes past Soucek's knee before he sticks his hand out and to the side to divert it away.

Probably the best still (though obviously still not definitive) is the first one from the series of stills you posted above. It shows the ball traveling wide of Soucek's knee and although the still can't reveal this (as it doesn't convey any depth information) when you watch the whole video it's fairly obvious that the ball is at this point already more or less past his knee, on the way to his hand.



Even Soucek himself admits to handling the ball, he just thinks there's a rule that it can't be a penalty, because his hand touched the ground

“No, it wasn’t [a penalty] because I just fell on the floor and I know the rules that if I am on the floor and I touch the floor with my hand, even if the ball touches it, it is not handball, so I was quite clear that it’s not, but you never know what can show. [But] by the rules I was quite sure it would not be a penalty.”

-Tomáš Souček; source: West Ham United FC

Soucek was quite certain he would get away with it

 

[one]

This is the most telling angle for me. If you are using your hand to break your fall your palm is 'facing' the ground not the ball. And your arm is much straighter. Take the ball away and he'd be breaking his fingers on impact.