Ex-Fifa official suggests new VAR agenda amid Jarrod Bowen controversy at West Ham
Keith Hackett has claimed Stuart Atwell was right to award West Ham a penalty for the challenge on Jarrod Bowen despite initially waving appeals away.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee suggested there has been a recent move from the VAR system towards awarding more penalty kicks.
As seen in footage from Sky Sports’ YouTube channel, Bowen looked to have been fouled by Joe Gomez while trying to bring the ball down in the first half of West Ham’s eventual 1-0 loss against Liverpool on Wednesday (19 October).
Match referee Atwell initially allowed play to continue, but VAR official Craig Pawson intervened and recommended a review on the pitchside monitor.
Bowen stepped up to take the subsequent penalty but was denied by Liverpool shot-stopper Alisson.
West Ham sit 13th in the Premier League, having picked up 11 points from their first 11 games this term.
When asked if he thought a penalty kick was the correct decision, Hackett told Football Insider: “Yes, I do.
“This is where VAR comes in and we’re going to get these calls.
“I’ve no doubts that it was a penalty kick and it should really have been awarded the first time around.
“The one thing about Stuart Atwell and this particular game is that he’s superbly fit. He was also in a great position to judge the challenge the first time around.
“I think VAR will always come in more on penalty kicks than in any other incident, apart from offside.
“This is where we need the technology to examine the challenges.
“It seems to me that there’s been a move towards penalising more challenges in the penalty area for challenges like this, as well as grabbing and holding.”
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