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On Sunday afternoon at the London Stadium, David Coote gave penalties to both West Ham and Arsenal as both teams played a 2-2 draw.
West Ham midfielder Declan Rice appeared to have handled the ball before sliding a pass to Lucas Paqueta who was brought down by Gabriel inside the box.
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Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has explained why West Ham's penalty against Arsenal was not overturned after the VAR checked for a possible handball.
Arsenal pegged from behind against West Ham
With goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard inside the first ten minutes, the Gunners raced out to an early lead at the London Stadium.
But when Lucas Paqueta won a contentious penalty, the visitors rapidly lost control of the match. Declan Rice dispossessed Thomas Partey before slipping the Brazilian through on goal.
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Gabriel Magalhaes clipped Paqueta inside the box, and David Coote pointed to the spot right away. The on-field judgement was confirmed by the Video Assistant Referee. Rice appeared to handle the ball in the moments leading up to the foul.
West Ham later got the equaliser in the second half courtesy of Jarrod Bowen who lash home from close range.
Halsey claims it was a careless challenge
Halsey specifically outlined the reasons Arsenal shouldn't have any concerns about the decision in an interview with The Sun.
Speaking in an interview, Halsey said, "Lucas Paqueta went past Gabriel and it’s clear the Arsenal defender caught him so it was an obvious penalty. It was a careless challenge and Arsenal cannot have any complaints.
"There were suggestions Declan Rice handled the ball in the build up, but even if there was contact, it looked to be accidental and accidental handball is not an offence. VAR would not get involved in that situation because it was subjective."
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17:18 - 16.04.2023
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Arsenal blew a two-goal lead against West Ham to set an unwanted record in the Premier League
Arsenal also received a penalty in the second half after the ball struck Michail Antonio's forearm. Halsey thinks the referee made the right call once more when Coote pointed to the spot.
Still speaking, he said, "The law is clear, if you’re making yourself bigger and your arms are out and move towards the ball, the referee will give a penalty. We see a lot of those given week in, week out. That’s why the handball law is an ass.
"They changed the law to try and simplify it but the new law has made it even more confusing. The VAR was never going to overturn that. Both penalty decisions were correct.
"We want to see the on-field referee making decisions. We don’t want referees not getting involved and waiting for VAR to help. And fair play to David Coote because he made the decisions himself yesterday."
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