'We’ve got to do something' - Adviser suggests new IFAB law after West Ham vs Arsenal incident

West Ham United’s disallowed goal against Arsenal shows that changes need to be made to avoid similar controversies in the future.

That is the view of Keith Wyness, as the former Everton chief executive talks to Football Insider about what could be introduced in the future to stop excessive grappling in the penalty area from corners.

Callum Wilson thought he had rescued a point for West Ham against Arsenal in stoppage time, but after a VAR review, referee Chris Kavanagh ruled out the goal.

Pablo was deemed to have fouled David Raya, whilst other incidents happened in a packed penalty area, including West Ham goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, as the Hammers chased an equaliser.

The decision to rule out West Ham’s goal has proved controversial, as the ruling has an impact in the Premier League title race and the relegation battle.

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Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that the decision to rule out Wilson’s goal was the correct one by the referee.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness though states that such incidents are “spoiling the game,” and something needs to change.

He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Over many weeks there has been wrestling in the box and in those sorts of areas.

“Once again, it just showed what a pantomime that is just now. The most useful thought I saw recently, and I’ve been monitoring all the different ideas about solutions, is that perhaps there are no defenders allowed in the six-yard box until the ball is in play.

“You do tend to see the referee having to stop play and going into those players that are sort of jostling on the goal line, and around the goalkeeper. It would seem to be that this is the one that makes the most sense to me, that until the ball is kicked in the air nobody can encroach into the six-yard box.

“We’ve got to do something about it because it’s spoiling the game. In terms of this particular decision, the photographs prove it was right. We know there’s a lot of other activity going on in the box.

“I do tend to think it was the right decision, unfortunately, but it was the timing of it, of course, that magnified the whole situation.”

Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett told Football Insider that both West Ham and Arsenal could face retrospective action from the FA after emotions boiled over at the London Stadium.

Arsenal players surrounded the referee when Wilson’s strike was initially awarded, before the West Ham players repeated their actions when the goal was ruled out.

West Ham have continued to vent their frustration at the decision in the aftermath of the match, with the Premier League releasing the audio between the referee and the VAR.

Current PGMOL chief Howard Webb has backed the decision to disallow the goal, and has praised the process between the referee and the VAR over how the verdict was reached.

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