BREAKING NEWS: The English FA has confirmed that West Ham United’s penalty goal against Manchester United, which was previously disallowed, is now valid. As a result, West Ham has been awarded three points for their performance. Jamie Carragher of Manchester United commented on the decision.

The stoppage-time penalty awarded to West Ham against Manchester United has ignited significant debate, drawing criticism from former Tottenham player Jamie O’Hara. This last-minute decision enabled West Ham to secure a 2-1 win at the London Stadium, but the penalty call quickly became a hot topic, particularly regarding the officiating.

The match was tightly contested, with Manchester United controlling much of the first half and creating several strong scoring opportunities.

However, despite their dominance, United fell behind when Crysencio Summerville scored the opening goal for West Ham. United managed to equalize through Casemiro, setting the teams on level ground. As the game neared its end, however, a decisive moment emerged.

In the final minutes, referee David Coote was prompted to review an incident involving United’s Matthijs de Ligt and West Ham’s Danny Ings. The Dutch defender appeared to make contact with Ings in the penalty area, leading Coote to overturn his initial judgment and award West Ham a penalty following an on-field review.

Jarrod Bowen confidently converted the penalty, clinching the win for Julen Lopetegui’s squad. The decision to grant the penalty became a focal point of post-match controversy.

O’Hara expressed his frustration on Sky Sports, contending that the incident did not merit a penalty. He argued that it was a “50/50 situation” where both players seemed cautious, suggesting that Ings was already in the process of falling before the contact.

O’Hara felt that Ings was seeking a penalty rather than making a legitimate play for the ball, questioning the referee’s decision to overturn the initial call. He asserted, “There’s not enough contact to justify this as a foul,” adding that the call wasn’t “clear and obvious,” the standard intended for VAR intervention.

For O’Hara, the incident represents another instance where VAR’s involvement has overstepped, affecting game outcomes based on minimal contact.

He questioned why referees feel pressured to reverse decisions that don’t constitute obvious errors. “The referee saw it and didn’t call it initially, so why re-evaluate something that’s not a clear mistake?” he argued.

Manchester United’s manager, Erik ten Hag, echoed these sentiments, expressing his frustration with the decision in his post-match remarks to BBC Sport. Ten Hag insisted that VAR’s role should be confined to rectifying major errors, not marginal decisions.

His disappointment with the officiating consistency was clear, as he questioned whether VAR’s interventions are distorting the nature of the game.