Alan Shearer rages at controversial incident in West Ham draw v Chelsea as footage emerges on Match of the Day

Chelsea were denied a late penalty against West Ham in the Premier League game on Saturday (11 February), and Alan Shearer has described it as a “shocking” decision.

Towards the closing stages of the game, a shot from Conor Gallagher appeared to have hit the hand of Tomas Soucek who was already on the ground. But the Blues were not given a penalty, which appears to be a controversial decision.

Neil Swarbrick was the head of the VAR for that game, and Danny Murphy on BBC Match of the Day (11 February, 1:02:08) said that it’s a real lack of understanding from him. Shearer responded by saying that it was a “shocking” decision.

“Neil Swarbrick who is the head of VAR was on VAR today. That’s the worrying thing. I’m sorry, you’ve to name the people who are making these decisions,” said Murphy on Match of the Day.

“It’s a shocking decision. Shocking decision,” responded Shearer.

Moving on

The inconsistency from VAR has become a part of the game and we move on. There are some decisions that will go for you, while some will go against you. In this case, the Hammers are lucky.

To be honest, the club badly need some luck at the moment. The Hammers are struggling near the drop zone and this is a valuable point earned.

There have been improvements in recent games, especially after January.

The Hammers may have just picked up only one win, against Everton, in their last five games in the Premier League, but the performance levels have improved.

They drew against Newcastle United and Chelsea and it appears that they are gradually getting better. Having said that, David Moyes won’t be entirely happy with the performance on Saturday.

The Hammers were thoroughly outplayed in the first 20 minutes, and the defensive shape was all over the place. They are conceding early goals, and that need to stop immediately.

Moyes’ side face Tottenham in their next Premier League away from home next Sunday (19 February).