West Ham do not see the point in complaining to the Premier League following the lengthy VAR stoppage against Aston Villa, according to the Daily Mail.
The video official intervened after Tomas Soucek bundled the ball over the line late on in Sunday’s (17 March) eventual 1-1 draw with Villa at London Stadium.
After a five minute and 37 second check – the longest ever since the technology was rolled out in 2019 – it was adjudged that Soucek used his arm and the goal was ruled out.
In an article for the Daily Mail [18 March], Kieran Gill wrote: “West Ham will not complain to the PGMOL – headed up by Howard Webb since December 2022 – with one source telling Mail Sport they see no point in seeking feedback because they have to ‘just accept’ what happened at the London Stadium.
“One former Premier League official told Mail Sport yesterday that the lengthy checks are a consequence of VARs being frightened to come to a conclusion, adding: ‘That’s why it took so long to rule out West Ham’s goal. They’re worried about an angle cropping up later which shows they were wrong and then suddenly, they’re dropped from the next round of matches.”
The report added: “The PGMOL face having to explain why VAR took an embarrassing five minutes and 37 seconds to disallow West Ham’s winner against Aston Villa, just a month after the Premier League warned the refereeing body that lengthy delays are damaging their product.”
