Chelsea denied clear penalty vs West Ham as Soucek handballs strike

Chelsea players were left furious after they were not awarded a penalty late on against West Ham after Tomas Soucek ‘saved’ a strike from Conor Gallagher with his hand. A spot-kick would have given the visitors the chance to nick a 2-1 win but they had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

The Hammers midfielder went to ground to block a strike from Gallagher in the 89th minute, but the ball deflected off of his outstretched arm and around the post.

Chelsea players quickly appealed for a penalty, though their pleas were waved away by referee Craig Pawson. VAR also opted not to intervene, despite it appearing to be a clear and obvious error by the on-field officials.

Speaking about the decision, former referee Peter Walton told BT Sport: “Well when Soucek goes down there, you can clearly see his arm go down. Is his arm down there to prevent him from hitting the ground or is his arm there to block the ball? My opinion is if it hasn’t been given he’s got away with it, I think that’s a penalty kick.”

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Former England international Jermaine Jenas added on commentary on BT Sport: “I’m in shock, I can’t believe that’s not been given. You can land on the ground without using your arms if you need to, do you know what I mean?

“He knows what he’s doing there, even has a little bit of a look here, Soucek, that’s handball. It’s a shot on target, going towards goal, it’s the wrong decision in my opinion.

“When you look at it closely and you analyse it almost in slow motion, you can see that the ball is past his knee and then he decides to put his arm there. For me, I think that’s a deliberate contact, and I’m disappointed the VAR didn’t give the opportunity for the referee to go and have a second look at it.”

Rio Ferdinand added post-match: “Well I was happy the referee and VAR and didn’t see it, but he more or less saved it, it was a great save. Gallagher hits one with his left foot on the edge of the box, and from the next angle here you can see no wonder why these players in Chelsea shirts are going crazy.

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“He gets down really well to his left, what a save that is. I can’t believe that’s not been given. It’s unbelievable. It’s lucky.”

Graham Potter was stunned by the decision on the sidelines, questioning how there was no intervention by any of the officials – be that from inside the stadium or from VAR. A penalty being given would have provided his side with the chance to win the match and move up to seventh in the Premier League following their shaky start to the season.

But they were forced to settle for a point following first-half goals from Joao Felix and former player Emerson Palmieri. That means Chelsea have only won two of their last 13 matches across all competitions under Potter.