‘Scandalous’ - Danny Murphy agrees with David Moyes on…

‘Scandalous’ - Danny Murphy agrees with David Moyes on VAR decision in Brentford vs West Ham

Former Liverpool and England midfielder Danny Murphy has called the decision to rule out Danny Ings’ goal for West Ham United against Brentford on Sunday as “scandalous.”

The Hammers fell to a 2-0 defeat to Brentford on Sunday, missing the chance to be able to seal their Premier League survival as first half goals from Bryan Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa meant the Bees sealed a top half finish for the first time since their return to the top-flight.

However, midway through the second half, West Ham saw a goal from Ings disallowed by referee Michael Oliver following a VAR check for a handball in the build-up.

The goal itself was an unusual one. Said Benrahma’s cross to the back post was overhit and crashed into teenage striker Divin Mubama’s arm before dropping to Manuel Lanzini’s, whose close-range volleyed cross was headed into an empty net by Ings.

Despite the Premier League laws stating accidental handball leading to a goal scored by a teammate should not result in a goal being disallowed, Oliver ruled out the goal, a decision which Moyes called “very strange” in his post-match press conference.

Murphy, whose career saw him make 517 Premier League appearances for the likes of Liverpool, Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, and Fulham, agreed with Moyes and said whoever judged the handball to be deliberate is “in the wrong job."

“Absolutely. I think the first point of saying whoever, if somebody, has said deliberate, you know then they are in the wrong job because nobody can think that is deliberate, obviously,” Murphy told BBC’s Match of the Day 2.

“When we see it again, I think the only thing you can do with your arm when you are a yard away from a post that is going to damage your face is put your arms in the air. We talk about the rules and we look at the wording and we try to find a reason for it, look, logic has got to kick in at times.

“ There is no way in the world that goal should be disallowed for handball. The young lad, Mubama, it’s his second (Premier League) game, he’s got in at the back post, he doesn’t know the ball is coming off the post and hitting him on the shoulder, the hand, or wherever it does.

“I was surprised, because Michael Oliver is one of the best, if not the best, he’s a super ref. You’re only allowed to use common sense to a certain degree, but I thought when he went over, he will see sense.

“So I’m surprised at him and I would expect an apology to David Moyes, whether it be on the q.t. (quiet) or whatever because that is a scandalous decision and it could’ve changed the momentum of the game.”

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