Gary Neville has criticized VAR for not intervening during Chelsea’s 2-1 win over West Ham on Monday evening.
The former Manchester United captain believes that Graham Potter and his team should be upset with the decision not to disallow Chelsea’s equalizer. Despite this, Enzo Maresca’s team went on to secure the win.
Jarrod Bowen, returning from injury, put West Ham ahead at Stamford Bridge, but Pedro Neto quickly equalized after coming on as a substitute. While the goal was reviewed by VAR, a potential foul on Bowen appeared to be missed.
Neville expressed disappointment that referee Stuart Attwell did not spot the foul in the challenge from Levi Colwill, which was not considered during Chelsea’s attacking phase but should have been flagged in real-time.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Neville said, “I’d be furious if I were West Ham, as the referee and assistants should have seen that. I think Levi Colwill fouled Jarrod Bowen; he just stepped across him. It was an obvious foul.”
Potter, who was making his return to Chelsea after being dismissed from the club nearly two years ago, also felt aggrieved. The former Brighton manager agreed Bowen had been fouled and noted the lengthy VAR review on Marc Guiu’s offside call, which seemed to be close.
“We felt unlucky with the first goal,” Potter said. “We felt it was a foul on Jarrod. I haven’t seen the Guiu offside call back, but it took that long, so it must have been tight. The second goal was a deflection. We need to focus on what we did well, and the spirit and performance. Our supporters appreciated the team’s performance. You need a bit of luck. We felt unfortunate with the lead-up to the first goal. It wasn’t to be.
“You look at the second half; they had to make substitutions, and the first goal was a turning point, and we felt it was a foul. You need those things to go your way. We were doing well but couldn’t quite hold on, and we had a big chance at the end to take a point.”
Despite the loss, goalscorer Bowen found some positivity.
“There are a lot of positives,” he said. “We’ve got players coming back from injury, and performances have been a lot better since the new manager arrived. It’s an exciting time to be coming back into the squad.”
Gary Neville slams VAR’s Chelsea decisions as two calls leave Graham Potter furious
