Danny Murphy, a former midfielder for Liverpool and England, has criticized the decision to disallow Danny Ings’ goal for West Ham United against Brentford on Sunday, describing it as “scandalous”, writes the football.london.
Unfortunately, the Hammers suffered a 0-2 loss to Brentford, missing out on the opportunity to secure their place in the Premier League for another season. The Bees secured a top-half finish for the first time since their return to the top-flight, thanks to first-half goals from Bryan Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa. However, in the second half, Michael Oliver, the referee, disallowed a goal from Ings for West Ham due to a handball detected during a VAR check in the build-up.
The goal itself had an unusual series of events leading up to it. A cross from Said Benrahma towards the back post was overhit and accidentally hit teenage striker Divin Mubama’s arm before falling to Manuel Lanzini. Lanzini then delivered a close-range volleyed cross, which was headed into an empty net by Ings.
Despite the Premier League laws stating that a goal scored by a teammate due to accidental handball should not be disallowed, Michael Oliver, the referee, disallowed the goal, a decision that David Moyes, West Ham’s manager, described as “very strange” during his post-match press conference.
Danny Murphy, who made 517 Premier League appearances for Liverpool, Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, and Fulham, agreed with Moyes and stated that whoever deemed the handball intentional is “in the wrong job.”
Murphy told BBC: “Absolutely. I think the first point of saying whoever, if somebody, has said deliberate, you know then they are in the wrong job because nobody can think that is deliberate, obviously,”
“When we see it again, I think the only thing you can do with your arm when you are a yard away from a post that is going to damage your face is put your arms in the air. We talk about the rules and we look at the wording and we try to find a reason for it, look, logic has got to kick in at times.
“There is no way in the world that goal should be disallowed for handball. The young lad, Mubama, it’s his second (Premier League) game, he’s got in at the back post, he doesn’t know the ball is coming off the post and hitting him on the shoulder, the hand, or wherever it does.
“I was surprised, because Michael Oliver is one of the best, if not the best, he’s a super ref. You’re only allowed to use common sense to a certain degree, but I thought when he went over, he will see sense.
“So I’m surprised at him and I would expect an apology to David Moyes, whether it be on the q.t. (quiet) or whatever because that is a scandalous decision and it could’ve changed the momentum of the game.”