Players must be banned from being in the six-yard box before a corner is taken – a rule change must be implemented.
That’s the view of ex-Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann, who has reacted to the VAR controversy between West Ham and Arsenal.
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The Gunners escaped London Stadium with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Leandro Trossard’s 83rd minute strike to move them five points clear of Manchester City with two games to go.
As for West Ham, it’s a result that may have sealed their relegation fate, as they remain in the bottom three, and could trail 17th-placed Tottenham by four points should they beat Leeds on Monday night.
But the big talking point of the match came deep in stoppage time when Callum Wilson thought he had equalised when he capitalised on a drop by David Raya.
The Arsenal goalkeeper failed to catch Jarrod Bowen’s corner, but VAR sent referee Chris Kavanagh to the pitchside monitor to view whether the Spaniard had been fouled.
After a five-minute delay, the goal was chalked off after Pablo’s arm was across Raya’s neck while holding his arm – impeding him from catching the ball.
But what VAR failed to address, was that Declan Rice had two arms around Konstantinos Mavropanos, with Trossard also grappling Pablo.
VAR-cical
Fans and pundits have called out for consistency regarding corners, with many incidents on goalkeepers going unpunished.
talkSPORT presenter Abbi Summers was left incensed by the goal being overturned, as she reacted by branding it a ‘disgrace’ and walking out of the studio.
To try and stop such situations from happening again next season, Cann, who officiated both the Champions League and World Cup finals in 2010, has put forward a radical rule change.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Cann said: “I feel like the time has come now for a law change whereby no attackers are allowed in the six-yard box before the corner is taken.
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“So at goal kicks, forwards are not allowed in the penalty area.
“At corners, they shouldn’t be allowed in the six-yard box until the ball is in play.
“That would create natural separation and give the goalkeeper space, so we wouldn’t have these endless debates.
“And lots of teams grapple at corners, sometimes before the ball has come into play.
“And then obviously the referee can’t give a penalty or can’t give an indirect free-kick if the ball is not in play.
“So this would create that natural separation and eradicate these kind of situations.”
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talkSPORT co-host Jeff Stelling proposed his own rule change on the Breakfast show on Monday morning – insisting players must be penalised for any holding in the box.
He remarked: “Apply the laws of the game that say a foul from the likes of Declan Rice within the box is a penalty.
“And start giving… let’s move away from the incident and just say any grappling in the box, any rugby tackling in the box, set plays, is a penalty kick.
“Give the penalty kick, apply the law, it will stop all this nonsense.”