West Ham manager David Moyes claims teams are accepting poor refereeing as the norm after his side conceded the latest ever Premier League goal in their 2-2 draw at Sheffield United.
The Hammers were on course for a win when James Ward-Prowse’s 79th-minute penalty put them 2-1 up, after Ben Brereton Diaz’s debut goal for the hosts had cancelled out Maxwell Cornet’s opener.
But in the eighth minute of time added on, referee Michael Salisbury pointed to the spot after ruling Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola had fouled Oli McBurnie and a further five minutes later, with the injured Areola replaced by Lukasz Fabianski, the Blades striker coolly converted.
Moyes did not directly criticise Salisbury, other than suggesting Areola was the player fouled, but said there is now a level of apathy towards the standard of referees.
“I am certainly not going to talk about any referees, for sure I don’t want to get myself into trouble,” he said.
“You should ask the referee and see what they think, we have got to the stage where we are settling for a level of officiating where we are all shrugging our shoulders and saying, ‘OK’.
“We are shrugging our shoulders again and seeing what they do. We don’t know what they are going to do.”
On whether Areola receiving lengthy treatment and having to be taken off meant he was the one fouled, Moyes added: “Absolutely, he was fouled. I think it was a foul on the goalkeeper.”
Moyes had just as much frustration with his own side, who were not at their best at Bramall Lane.
Cornet’s first Hammers goal at the 31st attempt put them ahead but Brereton Diaz levelled on the stroke of half-time.
Ward-Prowse’s penalty restored West Ham’s lead as the Blades’ Rhian Brewster and West Ham’s Vladimir Coufal were both sent off in added time for separate incidents before the real drama happened.
Blades boss Chris Wilder could not watch McBurnie slot the ball home but was pleased with his side’s staying power.
“I am delighted my team stayed in the game because with 10 men, and them passing it around, it could have gone from two to three,” he said.
“The attitude of the team has helped us stay in the game.
“The goalkeeper comes and makes a rash decision to come through and we get the penalty. I am delighted we got something from the game, that is my overriding emotion.
“I didn’t watch the penalty, I just saw the reaction of the crowd. It is just one of those – I do sometimes watch, not in the 103rd minute.”
'I don't celebrate goals any more' - Postecoglou bemoans VAR after Arsenal defeat
Ange Postecoglou admitted "I don't celebrate goals any more" after VAR denied Tottenham during their north London derby defeat by Arsenal.
Spurs were beaten 3-2 by their rivals, who kept their Premier League title challenge on track, despite a late rally having trailed 3-0 at half-time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Trailing 1-0 to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's own-goal, the hosts thought they had equalised when Micky van de Ven slotted past David Raya, However, the decision to award the goal was overturned following a VAR review with the defender adjudged to be offside.
Arsenal took advantage of their let-off with Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz increasing their lead, while second-half strikes from Cristiano Romero and Heung-Min Son proved academic for Tottenham.
"Games aren’t refereed in the stadium any more," Postecoglou told reporters during his post-match press conference. "I don’t celebrate goals any more.
"You've got to wait for somebody down the road. It’s a shame, I don’t like it, but I’ve got to accept it."
The Spurs boss was pleased with his side's response after the break, and hopes his players will benefit from the disappointment of losing the derby.
"It's a big day for our club and our fans, and we didn't get the outcome we wanted, so it's obviously very disappointing," he added on SpursTalk.
"You can go out in the second half and accept your fate that it's not your day, but we had to show some resilience and fight - just for our supporters more than anything else. To be fair to the lads, they did that.
"We just lacked some focus today in key moments, particularly in the first half. Sometimes, you've got to feel the pain of it to learn that lesson properly."
Arteta was 'praying' Arsenal held on for derby victory
Mikel Arteta was "praying" Arsenal clung on as the Gunners held off a late Tottenham fightback to claim a 3-2 north London derby victory on Sunday.
Arsenal looked to be cruising at 3-0 up after a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg own-goal put the Gunners ahead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz extended the visitors' lead.
However, a David Raya mistake allowed Cristian Romero to cut the deficit before a Son Heung-min penalty threw Arsenal's lead into further peril after Declan Rice brought down Ben Davies.
The Gunners held on, though, despite some late pressure, a period in which Arteta conceded he was fearing the worst.
"I was praying," Arteta told reporters. "It was a really emotional game.
"3-0 up you're in control, and then an individual error happens that clicks something. We started to deal with the situation better, but they have the players to put a lot of courage forward."
Along with the derby day spoils, the win extends Arsenal's lead at the Premier League summit to four points, temporarily at least with closest rivals Manchester City taking on Nottingham Forest later on Sunday in the first of their two games in hand over the Gunners.
The destination of the title remains in the hands of Pep Guardiola's City, who overtook Arsenal last term to claim a fifth Premier League title in six seasons last term after the Gunners led for much of the way.
Arteta believes Arsenal are better-equipped this time to go on and win the title, however.
When asked if Arsenal have the ability to go all the way, Arteta replied: "100%.
"I’ve seen that the whole season. They give me reason to believe that every single day. The motivation for what is ahead is beautiful."
'We fought until the end' - Saka 'delighted' as Arsenal withstand late Spurs surge
Bukayo Saka saluted Arsenal's fighting spirit as they withstood a late Tottenham revival to claim all three points in the north London derby.
Mikel Arteta's side prevailed 3-2 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to extend their lead at the Premier League summit to four points over second-place Manchester City with three matches remaining, though the Citizens still have two games in hand.
The Gunners surged into a 3-0 lead before half-time with Saka and Kai Havertz on target after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's own-goal broke the deadlock.
The winger's 15th goal of the season - his highest tally during a single term - saw him become the first English player to score home and away for Arsenal against Tottenham in the same Premier League campaign since Ian Wright in 1993-94.
However, the visitors given a late scare with Cristian Romero pouncing on David Raya's error to pull a goal back, before Heung-Min Son's 87th-minute penalty set up a grandstand finish.
Nevertheless, they held on for three points and, though the destiny of the title is out of their hands, their challenge remains very much alive.
"The last 20 minutes weren't nice, but it was worth it," Saka told Sky Sports.
"We know it's a big derby, and they don't want to lose 3-0 at home. Once they got one goal, the crowd were up and the momentum shifted their way. But I'm proud of the boys. We fought until the end, and got the three points.
"We showed our level heads at the end, and I'm proud to get the win. We know what it means to the fans and to us, so we're delighted.
"This is a massive win for us. We've got three [matches] to go, we're going to give it everything. City are an amazing team, but they're not perfect - nobody's perfect, they can drop points. We just need to do our job and see where it leads us."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
