Ex-Premier League referee ‘amazed’ after ‘blatant’ Thilo Kehrer controversy at West Ham
Keith Hackett has insisted he was “amazed” to see West Ham defender Thilo Kehrer get away with a “blatant” handball during the Irons’ 2-0 loss against Tottenham on Sunday (19 February).
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee accused the 26-year-old of paddling the ball away from danger with an arm in a “very unnatural position”.
As seen in footage posted to Twitter by Sky Sports (20 February), Kehrer can be seen to use his hand to prevent a pass from Tottenham forward Richarlison to Harry Kane during a dangerous Spurs attack.
Appeals from the Spurs players were waved away by on-field referee Michael Oliver and VAR official David Coote chose not to send Oliver to the monitor to review his decision.
The north London side went on to claim a 2-0 victory in the derby, moving them into the Premier League’s top four.
A similar incident also went unpunished last week, when West Ham’s Tomas Soucek appeared to prevent a shot from Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher from reaching Lukas Fabianski’s goal.
Hackett told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “He’s not bent his arm down to stop his fall on this occasion.
“He’s just paddled the ball away – using an arm in a very unnatural position.
“Generally, the media have been too kind to referees this week after they were slaughtered last weekend.
“In reality, it’s not been much better when you look at decisions like this.
“When I saw this, I instantly shouted out for a penalty kick. It’s a blatant handball offence.
“I’m amazed that one wasn’t given, and I just can’t see how the VAR didn’t intervene to tell the referee to check the monitor.”
In other news, Football Insider updates as West Ham respond to David Moyes sack speculation.