Center-back Victor Lindelof had a clear handshake in the penalty area but the referee did not give West Ham a penalty.
The ball touched Victor Lindelof’s hand in the Manchester United penalty area at the end of the first half. The West Ham players immediately demanded a penalty from referee Peter Bankes. Stuart Attwell, the VAR referee for this match, was also criticized for not intervening to assist the referee.
In this phase, Lindelof actively closed his hand. However, when the ball approached, his arm inched wide enough to prevent the ball from flying over. And the referee’s decision made two commentators on BT Sport channel, Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole, feel confused.
“It’s 100 per cent sure it’s a handball situation,” Cole said. “Lindelof moves his arm towards the ball. I can’t understand the referee’s decision. West Ham were terminated when VAR did not interfere in the match against Liverpool and it happened again. If you were David Moyes you would be very angry.”
Ferdinand also agrees with this view: “We can all see the handball situation immediately. His arm moved towards the ball as soon as it approached.
I don’t know how the referee didn’t check the situation again. The handball phase becomes even more obvious when you watch the slow motion.”
Even without this penalty, West Ham are still the team that won the final and are close to successfully relegating this season. Meanwhile, Man United has a great risk of popping out of the top 4 at the end of the season.