Dermot Gallagher reckons no-one would have argued if on-field referee Stuart Attwell deemed that Levi Colwill’s challenge on Jarrod Bowen in the build-up to Chelsea‘s equaliser against West Ham was a foul.
The incident occurred in the 64th minute, when Colwill appeared to crash into the side of Bowen in an off-the-ball tackle. As Tosin Adarabioyo passed the ball back to Filip Jorgensen, Colwill looked to have blocked Bowen’s run to the ball by barging him to the deck. While this type of challenge is seen a lot, West Ham were furious Attwell didn’t either spot it or decide to award a free-kick on Bowen.
What happened next was typical, as Chelsea went straight up the other end and scored. Pedro Neto slotted home after the ball fell to him inside the box to put the Blues level following Bowen’s first-half opener.
VAR couldn’t intervene as the game had entered another phase of play, meaning the goal stood and Chelsea were offered a lifeline. The Blues went on to win 2-1 with Cole Palmer’s strike deflecting off Aaron Wan-Bissaka and flying into the back of the net, giving Enzo Maresca a crucial three points.
It felt as though that decision not to award a foul on Bowen was a major turning point at Stamford Bridge, and former Premier League referee Gallagher has since delivered his verdict on the incident. Speaking on Sky Sports show Ref Watch, Gallagher said: “If he gives the foul, nobody would argue.
“He says no, it plays on, and the ball goes in the net 24 seconds later, then we have the uproar of the offside call, which has created lots of debate, too.”
Stephen Warnock added: “I think the first call is a bad one – Bowen is fouled – it’s a game-changing opportunity because the free-kick would have been in a good position.
“That’s hypothetical, but it could change the context of the game if they score from that – and it’s a blatant foul. How have they not seen that? It’s a shove in the back.”
Later in the move there was a check on whether Marc Guiu was offside. The Premier League Match Centre said there was no factual evidence to prove that Guiu – who replaced Nicolas Jackson during the second half – made contact with the ball before it eventually reached goal-scorer Neto.
“If Guiu touches the ball, without doubt it’s offside, but if you look at it there’s no evidence he’s touched the ball, therefore VAR is duty-bound to award the goal,” ex-Premier League referee Gallagher added.
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