VAR decision sees Rutter salvage a point for the Seagulls!

VAR has arguably been the most controversial addition to English football since its full introduction in the 2019-2020 Premier League season. Once again it caused dispute at the Amex on Sunday.

West Ham came into the game with the objective of dragging themselves out of the relegation zone, whilst the seagulls intend to continue in their push up the table into the continental football spots. Both sides played a fairly even game, the West Ham goal coming from captain Jarrod Bowen supplied by super-sub Callum Wilson

in the 72^nd Minute. The Seagulls had been playing a pretty sloppy game up to this point. By the 87^th minute Brighton fans were starting to trickle out the stadium despite the sustained pressure that West Ham were being put under. The goal came from the number 10 Georginio Rutter in the 91^st minute, which sent the Brighton fans into a jubilation, briefly halted by a VAR check.

The VAR check was for a potential handball in the build-up to the Brighton goal, but this was deemed as a natural hand position. There was additional debate around a potential dangerous high foot in the build up although the high foot was never checked by VAR as it was deemed not dangerous. Speaking in the post-match press conference, West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo said “Everyone saw it … it’s hard to take” referring to the incident. From West Ham’s perspective he said “you have to understand my frustration” speaking on the series of events. Despite the events, Nuno said “we are doing well but there is still progress to be made” when closing his press conference. This was Nuno’s 10^th game in charge of the irons where he has picked up 10 points, a good turnaround from a poor start to the season.

From the Brighton side, Georginio Rutter picks up his first goal for the seagulls this season. When asked about the VAR decision he said “the goal touched my body and my hand very quick so I couldn’t do anything so it’s a goal” which is what the officials saw, as the premier league officially confirmed. Despite the controversy of the goal, he said “it’s a goal we deserve it … I think we deserve more” speaking on the game as a whole. Brighton finished the weekend in 8^th, with Rutter’s eyes set on a potential European spot by the end of the season.