Jamie Carragher and furious Dean Smith SAVAGE ‘frustrating’ decision not to award Aston Villa late penalty in defeat by West Ham after Ollie Watkins was fouled before netting disallowed stoppage-time equaliser
- Aston Villa were denied a late penalty in their defeat by West Ham on Monday
- Ollie Watkins appeared to have been fouled by Angelo Ogbonna in added time
- The Villa striker saw his eventual finish chalked off for a narrow offside decision
- Jamie Carragher and Dean Smith were bemused by the use of VAR in the drama
Jamie Carragher and Dean Smith have torn apart the controversial decision not to award Aston Villa a stoppage-time penalty in their defeat at West Ham.
The incident, which once again raises further questions over the use of the much-maligned VAR, came when Ollie Watkins held off Angelo Ogbonna before tucking in what he believed to be a late leveller.
The goal was chalked off for offside, however, but replays showed Watkins was clearly impeded by the defender and a spot kick should have been given.
Jamie Carragher and Dean Smith have criticised the decision not to award Aston Villa a penalty
Sky Sports pundit Carragher was left in disbelief after Ollie Watkins’ appeals fell on deaf ears
A lengthy check revealed that Watkins had agonisingly strayed beyond the last man by a matter of inches, with the top of his arm the part of his body that forced the officials to pile on the misery.
And with Ogbonna escaping the shove on Watkins, which saw the striker stumble into the offside position, pundit Carragher and Villa boss Smith have expressed their frustration with the use of the technology.
‘That is a penalty, it should not be offside,’ Carragher told Sky Sports. ‘You could argue it is outside the box, the fact he is being fouled means he has to get off him and means he is offside. He does the right thing and stays on his feet.
Watkins slotted home a stoppage time equaliser but the goal was then ruled out for offside
Watkins was adjudged to be just offside as he was manhandled in the box by Angelo Ogbonna
The VAR check focused on the offside rather than Angelo Ogbonna’s clear shove on Watkins
‘I think VAR exposes referees, they are so obsessed with looking for things they miss the bigger picture.’
‘He is getting grappled and he is trying to get off him and that means he is offside. It goes off the short, that should be a penalty, his arm is offside. It’s frustrating that we are losing goals to this sort of situation.’
The insistence from VAR to focus on the offside saw Villa lose their unbeaten record away from home.
A red-faced Ogbonna, who escaped being penalised, nodded home the opening goal with just two minutes on the clock – although Jack Grealish thundered Villa back on level terms midway through the first half with a powerful drive from distance.
Jarrod Bowen fired West Ham in front shortly after the restart, and Watkins, who endured an evening to forget, was guilty of missing a spot-kick with a strike which cracked against the woodwork.
Villa coach Smith was left ruing the late drama and believes his side deserved to come away from the capital with all three points.
He said ‘It’s not frustrating, it’s just wrong, that’s the easiest way to describe it.
Watkins endured a horror evening in the capital and crashed a penalty against the woodwork
Villa boss Smith was left ruing the decision not to award his side their stoppage-time spot kick
‘Offside is offside, so I’ve no problem with that, but they’ve given offside for part of the body that can’t put the ball in the net, and that’s because he is being fouled.
‘If it’s not a goal it’s a penalty. They’ve got that wrong, they spent so long looking at the offside they don’t see the foul. It was more of a penalty than the first penalty.
‘It’s frustrating, I’m disappointed with the result but I thought we were great, we’ve come to West Ham and outplayed them. We had enough chances to win this game comfortably.’
