Premier League officials face backlash over a shocking VAR blunder during the Chelsea vs. West Ham match. PGMOL is now under intense scrutiny as Chelsea’s goal ‘should have been disallowed’

The Premier League has released a statement clarifying why Chelsea's equalizer against West Ham was allowed to stand, despite Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville suggesting the Blues were fortunate that Pedro Neto's goal was not overturned.

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The Premier League has released a statement clarifying why Chelsea’s equalizer against West Ham was allowed to stand, despite Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville suggesting the Blues were fortunate that Pedro Neto’s goal was not overturned.

Neto found the net in the 64th minute at Stamford Bridge, leveling the score after West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen had put the visitors ahead just before halftime. However, controversy surrounded the build-up to the goal, with Levi Colwill appearing to foul Bowen off the ball at the start of Chelsea’s attacking move.

VAR reviewed whether Marc Cucurella was offside before Neto scored but did not assess the potential foul by Colwill. The officials determined that Marc Guiu did not make contact with the ball from the initial cross, meaning Cucurella was onside and the goal stood.

Addressing the decision, the Premier League’s Match Centre account on X stated: “The referee’s decision to award the goal was checked and confirmed by VAR, as there was no factual evidence that Guiu touched the ball in the build-up, meaning no offside offense occurred.”

However, Neville argued that referee Stuart Attwell missed a blatant foul on Bowen and expressed his frustration: “I actually thought there was a foul on Bowen much earlier in the move. Colwill clearly steps across Bowen, taking him out so he can’t challenge for the ball. The referee and assistant should have spotted that. If I were West Ham, I’d be furious.”

Sky Sports later reported that VAR ruled the incident as occurring outside the attacking phase of play, meaning it was not reviewed.

Chelsea took the lead just 10 minutes later when Cole Palmer’s cross took a deflection off Aaron Wan-Bissaka, resulting in an own goal that sealed a 2-1 victory. The win lifted Chelsea to fourth in the Premier League table with 43 points, two ahead of fifth-placed Manchester City, while West Ham remained 15th with 27 points, 10 clear of relegation.

Next, Chelsea will face Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round at the Amex Stadium, while West Ham will return to action on February 15 against Brentford after being eliminated from the competition by Aston Villa.

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