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Football London
Football London
Sport
Matthew Holt

Why Tottenham were not given a penalty for Thilo Kehrer handball during West Ham clash

Tottenham were denied what looked to be a clear penalty during the first half of their Premier League clash with West Ham.

Forward Richarlison looked to pick out Harry Kane inside the area, before Hammers defender Thilo Kehrer appeared to block the Brazilian's pass with his hand. The incident sparked large-scale claims from the Spurs players but referee Michael Oliver waved away the claims.

VAR referee David Coote also decided that the former PSG man didn't make the silhouette of his body bigger, and was therefore in a natural position as he appeared to fall to the ground.

READ MORE: Tottenham team confirmed vs West Ham: Son and Perisic rested as Skipp starts in derby

The same could be said regarding Thomas Soucek's handball against Chelsea last week, with VAR official Lee Mason opting to not award a penalty on that occasion either. The ruling has caused quite a stir and was heavily debated at half-time.

''If they didn't give the one last week for West Ham then I'm unsure, I think it is a penalty. He is very close but I want to see these given the laws need to change. The rules are the rules and it is clear but I think they need to be clearer about it,'' said Robbie Keane in the Sky Sports studio.

''The ball would have gone to Harry Kane and he would have scored. He is not ending up on the floor, he is falling,'' replied former Chelsea forward Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink.

Former Premier League referee Peter Walton has perhaps offered an insight into why a penalty was not awarded on both instances. Speaking to BT Sport last weekend, via Metro, Walton said: "The law is quite clear. The law says about making that area unnaturally bigger. The VAR clearly thinks the arm was in a natural position… going down to break his fall.

"If you look at it closely, you see the ball is past his knee and then the arm is there. For me, that is a deliberate act and I am disappointed the VAR did not give the referee an opportunity to have a second look at it.

"In the law, you could almost defend the player by saying his arm was in a natural position.

"But really, football as a community would want that given as a penalty kick. As a former Premier League referee, I think that was the wrong decision today and should have been a penalty."

What do you make of the incident? Do you think Spurs should have been awarded a penalty? Let us know in the comments below!

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