Howard Webb
Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer of the Premier League, admitted that West Ham United were wrongly awarded a penalty through VAR which gave them a 2-1 win at home to Manchester United that resulted in the firing of manager Erik ten Hag.
The Premier League game on October 27 was locked at 1-1 in the 89th minute when Matthijs de Ligt clashed with Danny Ings inside the penalty area. Referee David Coote played on, but was sent to the pitchside monitor by the VAR, Michael Oliver, to award a spot kick. Jarrod Bowen dispatched the penalty to give the Hammers victory.
Ten Hag, who had been under immense pressure with United suffering their worst-ever start to a Premier League season, was fired the following morning. Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim was appointed as his replacement and started in the role this week.
Speaking on the Match Officials Mic’d Up show, Webb admitted that the incident did not reach the high bar for a VAR intervention.
“I thought it was a misread by the VAR, a VAR that’s normally really talented and reliable, but gets uber-focused in this situation on De Ligt’s leg,” Webb said. “His [De Ligt’s] leg coming through on to Danny Ings, not making any contact with the ball. The ball’s already past De Ligt as he makes contact with Danny Ings.
“And the VAR sees that as a clear foul. I think he was too focused on that aspect.”