Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey believes the VAR decisions amid both West Ham United goals against Bournemouth were correct.
The Hammers secured all three points at the London Stadium on Monday night after Kurt Zouma’s first-half header and Said Benrahma’s late penalty sealed a 2-0 victory. But most of the post-match talk focused on the VAR decisions that led to both goals.
For Zouma’s goal, Thilo Kehrer handled the ball in the build-up but both referee David Coote and VAR official Mike Dean decided the goal should stand. As for the penalty decision, Jordan Zemura was penalised when the ball hit his hand as he slid in to block a Vladimir Coufal cross.
READ MORE: Bournemouth's Gary O'Neil issues verdict on 'ridiculous' VAR after controversy in West Ham loss
Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil disagreed with both decisions, but Halsey believes the Cherries can have “no complaints”. In his column for The Sun, Halsey said: “West Ham’s opening goal by Kurt Zouma was correctly awarded by the referee David Coote and then VAR.
“The ball did hit the arm of Hammers defender Thilo Kehrer in the build-up. But he was not the scorer and his action was not deliberate as per Law 12: Handling the ball.
“Kehrer had his eyes closed and his arm was in a natural position tucked in front of his body. The play continued and Zouma headed home for a good goal.
“VAR official Mike Dean automatically checked the goal and agreed Kehrer’s action was not deliberate, so Bournemouth can have no complaints. Cherries sub Jordan Zemura conceded a late penalty when he made himself bigger and handled Vladimir Coufal’s cross.”
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