West Ham are investigating whether to log an official complaint with the PGMOL after Callum Wilson’s disallowed equaliser against Arsenal pushed them further towards relegation.
VAR Darren England sent referee Chris Kavanagh to his pitch-side monitor at the London Stadium in stoppage time to look at a potential foul by Pablo on David Raya.
It was decided that the Arsenal goalkeeper had clearly and obviously been impeded, and Mikel Arteta’s side held on to their 1-0 lead to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Going down as one of the biggest VAR calls in history, it also left West Ham a point shy of their relegation rivals Tottenham, who take on Leeds at home tonight.
It is understood West Ham will ask to hear the VAR audio with insiders confirming to Daily Mail Sport that they are now in the process of deciding whether it is worth complaining to the PGMOL. They believe Pablo was pushed by an Arsenal player into Raya, though one senior source did concede the whole complaints process would be ‘pointless’, however.
West Ham players were left infuriated by the decision to disallow their late equaliser
Pablo was adjudged to have fouled David Raya in the build-up to Callum Wilson’s goal
The refereeing body, led by Howard Webb, are believed to think England and Kavanagh made the correct call in a moment of high pressure. They took four minutes and 17 seconds to come to their conclusion together.
Some of the frustration surrounding the foul on Raya is to do with inconsistencies across the 2025-26 season with similar situations going unpunished.
Chelsea, for example, were denied a penalty away at Arsenal in March despite Raya hitting Joao Pedro with two hands while the striker was also being wrestled to the ground. Arteta’s side won that clash 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
