The English Premier League’s refereeing body, PGMOL, has released the full VAR audio and transcript from the final moments of Arsenal’s 1-0 win over West Ham United, sparking fresh debate over the consistency of video assistant referee decisions. The recording reveals tense exchanges between referee Chris Kavanagh, VAR official Darren England, and assistant VAR Akil Howson regarding the disallowed goal by Callum Wilson in the 95th minute.
According to the audio, as the officiating team reviewed the goal on the monitor, assistant VAR Akil Howson repeatedly questioned Leandro Trossard’s challenge on West Ham’s Pablo Fornals. The VAR team initially focused on Fornals’ apparent pull on David Raya’s arm, but Howson pointed out that Trossard might have committed an earlier or simultaneous foul. “You see Declan Rice, and (Leandro) Trossard,” Howson said during the review, according to a transcript published by The Daily Mail. Referee Kavanagh responded: “I don’t know what you want to show me, give me a hint.” After being asked to assess Trossard’s possible push on Fornals, Kavanagh dismissed the concern, stating: “I don’t think that’s anything major, I’m happy with that decision.”
The officiating team also examined a potential foul by Declan Rice on Konstantinos Mavropanos, but the focus remained on the collision with the goalkeeper. Kavanagh ultimately concluded: “But the foul is first on the goalkeeper.”
After the match, the officiating team faced criticism, with West Ham’s manager claiming that “even the referees don’t know what constitutes a foul.” However, PGMOL chief Howard Webb defended the decision-making process on the program “Match Officials Mic’d Up,” insisting that the “clear and obvious error” was the pulling of Raya’s arm. Webb explained: “Is this a foul on the goalkeeper? Without a doubt, yes. We have emphasized all season, including in pre-season briefings with players, that if a goalkeeper is grabbed or has his arm pulled and is unable to do his job, it will be penalized. We’re not just talking about any physical contact with the goalkeeper, but a specific type—when the goalkeeper’s arm or hands are interfered with, preventing him from performing his duties. The key player here is the goalkeeper, who has the unique ability to use his hands. In this situation, unlike other incidents in the box, the goalkeeper could not complete his job because the attacker took a very clear action to prevent him from lifting his arm. He was also being pulled by (Jean-Clair) Todibo from behind. There was other contact from Arsenal players, but without doubt the most significant was on the goalkeeper. This prevented him from making a fairly routine catch. The arm went across the neck and pressed down on the arm. He couldn’t…”