West Ham news: Ex-Premier League referee issues new VAR claim after Aaron Cresswell controversy – ‘sort it out’
Keith Hackett has claimed the decision to overturn a penalty given against West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell provides a clear example of the benefits of the Video Assistant Referee system.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee suggested that new PGMOL chief Howard Webb must “clean up” and “sort out” the VAR process after taking the hot-seat.
As seen on BBC’s Match of the Day (05:11, 26 December), Oliver awarded a spot-kick after Martin Odegaard’s shot struck Cresswell inside the box.
The referee initially believed the left-back had handled the ball, but a VAR review prompted by Darren England showed that the shot had solely made contact with his head.
West Ham had taken the lead with a penalty of their own but eventually slipped to a 3-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
The Irons sit 16th in the Premier League – just one point above the relegation zone.
Hackett told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “The ultimate aim of VAR is to come to the right decision.
“If we’re going to get this technology to a good place with Howard Webb – he’s got to get this process really cleaned up and sort it out.
“He’ll be sitting down with every club and every official in order to do that.
“This incident shows exactly how good VAR can be. The referee was in a good position, he thought he had seen something – but the video came to his rescue.”
In other news, pundit “worried” for David Moyes after West Ham source’s David Sullivan update.