Keith Hackett would have awarded a penalty to Newcastle when West Ham defender Konstantinos Mavropanos brought Callum Wilson down in the box on Monday night.
Julen Lopetegui’s men went on to win the game 2-0 at St James’ Park but Lukasz Fabianski’s clean sheet could have come under great threat in the second half when Mavropanos, 26, wrestled Wilson, 32, to the ground when he tried to get on the end of a Jacob Murphy cross.
Despite Wilson’s furious protests, referee Craig Pawson didn’t think it was a penalty – and neither did VAR.
As confirmed by the Premier League in an announcement on X, “the contact was not sufficient for a penalty”.
Former Premier League and FIFA official Hackett has bemoaned the inconsistency of penalties being awarded for grappling in the box and admits that while it wasn’t a “clear and obvious error” for VAR to intervene, he would have pointed to the spot back in his day.
“Over recent years we have witnessed many incidents of grappling in the penalty area going unpunished,” Hackett told West Ham Zone.“The PGMOL officials clearly only penalise when the holding is sustained and has an impact on the opponentEddie Howe wanted Newcastle penalty v West Ham
“What this has lead to is inconsistency in holding situations.
“This particular incident is subjective with the on-field referee making a ‘no offence’ decision. His judgement from a well-positioned viewing angle.
“The VAR does not intervene because it is not a clear and obvious error even though the West Ham United defender’s hands and arms are in contact with his opponent. The referee then decided there’s no offence and no penalty kick to Newcastle United.
It is a subjective decision. It does not fulfil the criteria of a ‘clear and obvious error’.
“We are now seeing on a regular basis that this type of contact going unpunished. In my era of officiating, I would have been pointing to the penalty mark.”
Speaking after the game, as quoted by Newcastle World, Magpies manager Eddie Howe said that he initially thought his side had a chance of winning a spot kick to claw back at West Ham’s two-goal lead.
“It’s difficult for me to say. I’ve looked at it once and I haven’t seen it again,” he said. “When I looked at it live I felt it was a really good shout for a penalty, someone might tell me different but I thought it was a good chance.”
Wilson admitted he was “a little frustrated” to not win the penalty.
Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were both on the scoresheet to help the Hammers win their fourth Premier League match of the season.
There’s now a six-point gap between the 14th-placed Irons and the relegation zone while only four points separate them from Tottenham in sixth.
Next up for under-pressure Lopetegui is a home clash against Arsenal at the London Stadium on Saturday (30 November).
