The panel of arbitrators admits error: Coufal should not have been sent off! What does Moyes say?

Should he have received a red card or not? According to the latest reports, Vladimir Coufal was not guilty of anything in West Ham United’s match against Arsenal. However, the referee’s decision significantly affected the match. How does coach David Moyes view the whole matter?

It is the sixty-sixth minute of the game when our national team full-back sees a yellow card for the second time and has to take an early shower. The original verdict of the head referee, Anthony Taylor, was that it was an offside tackle.

The Ostrava native saved the situation in the penalty area during Arsenal’s attack. He punched the ball away from Lacazette’s foot and then the two players’ feet collided.

Needless to say, West Ham fans were lifted out of their seats by the decision. However, Alexandre Lacazette did not take advantage of the penalty kick offer. From the whitewash he sent the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal, but Lukasz Fabianski read his intention and made a truly brilliant save.

In any case, the Hammers finished the game with ten men. Emile Smith Rowe put the final touch on the game with a sharp ground shot that gave the visiting goalkeeper no chance.

West Ham lost 0:2 to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. However, according to the Daily Mail, coach Moyes admitted that the club received a message from the referees’ committee that the sending off of the Czech defender in the match against Arsenal was a bad decision.

The refereeing panel subsequently also reportedly confirmed that the Hammers should have actually kicked a penalty in the match against Burnley. “I think the referees in the Premier League have done a good job until the last few weeks,” Moyes told the Daily Mail.

“It’s hard to accept that we have two pairs of eyes here and we’re still not able to make the right decision. I’ve been a player and now I’m a manager and I think if I sit in front of the television and get four or five different angles I’m able to form a good opinion,” Moyes said of the VAR system.

He then concluded the interview by saying that if he was unsure of his verdict, he would rather involve another referee than leave it to one person afterwards.

The situation that has arisen is all the worse in the sense that if Coufal hadn’t actually been sent off in the Arsenal game, this fixture could have turned out very differently. The same can be said of the recent game against Burnley, which ended in a 0-0 draw, and in which the Hammers should have had a penalty.

Currently, the London side is fifth in the league table with 28 points. They are four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal and only one point behind sixth-placed Manchester United. Yes, objectively speaking, sport includes tense moments, emotions and bad decisions by referees.

But the problems with the VAR system are not only in England or here, but all over Europe. And it is in this area that fans in many camps are demanding major improvements.

Sources: Daily Mail, Livesport