West Ham news: Expert slams ‘stupid’ Craig Dawson decision as VAR controversy analysed
Noel Whelan has slammed West Ham defender Craig Dawson’s “stupid” decision to bring down Romelu Lukaku amid a defensive crisis at the London Stadium.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, suggested Declan Rice will have to fill the void left by the 31-year-old for this Sunday’s (1 May) game against Arsenal.
Dawson hauled Lukaku over inside the box with the score still 0-0 late in West Ham’s eventual loss against Chelsea on Sunday (24 April).
The former Watford defender was cautioned initially, with his punishment eventually upgraded to a red card after an on-field VAR review.
Dawson is now banned for one domestic match but will be free to play both legs of the Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Whelan claimed the 31-year-old will be “sorely missed” by David Moyes’ side.
“He’s their rock at the back and he’ll be sorely missed against Arsenal,” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.
“He’s their leader, their talisman.
“It was a stupid decision to bring Lukaku down, he’s more professional than that.
“They’re running out of centre-halves now, and they’ll have to drag people out of position. It could be Declan Rice filling in.
“You don’t want to lose him and his energy out of that midfield, especially in a big game like Arsenal.
“But sometimes you’ve just got to bite the bullet. It’ll be interesting to see how Moyes patches that one up.”
Dawson is currently the only fit senior centre-back at West Ham.
Issa Diop, Kurt Zouma, and Angelo Ogbonna are all on the treatment table at present.
In other news, pundit tips Tomas Soucek for surprise West Ham role after injury update.