- West Ham lost 1-0 to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon
- VAR chalked off a late equaliser for the Hammers
- Nuno Espirito Santo has called for consistent decisions
West Ham United fell short against Arsenal, losing 1-0 at the London Stadium. The Hammers thought they had equalised in the dying minutes, only for VAR to overturn the goal and leave West Ham staring down the barrel of Premier League relegation.
After the game, Nuno Espirito Santo told the club’s official website that he was proud of the way his team fought, but they were hurt by the lack of consistency in decision making by officials.
“I think everybody gave everything. The fans gave everything. They played their game in the stands and the energy that they gave us [pushed us on].
“We started the game slowly, but then we changed the game around after 20 minutes. We changed it completely in our way, we were really working hard, pressing, dominating, creating problems.
“I have nothing [bad] to say about the performance, the character, the energy that we put in, but it was a game that we needed to win, and we lost it.
“So now we have to realise the position that we are in but with the same respect we have for each other, mainly for our Club. We’re going to give it our all until the last second, expecting that anything can happen.
“The way we ended the first half and started the second half was top. We had a good chance, then we scored and had all the decisions around the goal and the VAR.
“I was upset, disappointed, but I can say proud of the way we tried. Like I said in the dressing room to the boys, it’s our responsibility to go on and give it until the last second.”
Inconsistent decisions costing all teams, not just West Ham
Nuno was upset at the decisions made in West Ham‘s loss, but knows this isn’t an isolated incident. For far too long the Hammers have been on the wrong side of these calls, along with several other sides across the Premier League.
“It’s been happening in recent seasons, the lack of consistency around what has been allowed with grappling, blocking, contact [in the penalty area from set pieces]. Even the referees lost a little bit of the idea of what is a foul and what is not a foul.
“Today, the decision went against us. That’s why we are really, really upset, because it happened before and it was judged in a different way. That’s what upsets us.
“VAR has come into the game and it’s changed everything. Look, it’s disappointing. It was three points that we needed to accomplish our mission, but it’s not over. We don’t know what can happen.
“Let’s try to recover well. It’s going to be tough, because now a lot of emotions are in our head, but we’re going to recover the players and we’re going to give it a go in Newcastle.
“We’re going to prepare well, compete well, expecting that things can turn our way. This is what we’re going to fight for. We’re going to fight for it.”
