SOCCER: West Ham's Bowen questions VAR consistency after Wilson’s equaliser rule out

West Ham United captain Jarrod Bowen has raised concerns over the consistency of VAR decisions after Callum Wilson’s stoppage-time equaliser against Arsenal on Sunday was controversially disallowed.

Wilson had appeared to rescue a point for West Ham when he finished from a goalmouth scramble following a corner. However, after a lengthy VAR review, the goal was ruled out for a foul on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.

“When you look at the screen for five minutes, you’ll find something — a lot of grappling and a lot of holding,” Bowen told the BBC. “I’m sure if you look long enough, you’ll find something. Do I think it’s the right decision? No.”

He also questioned the lack of consistency in officiating decisions, adding: “Where’s the consistency? As a fan, you don’t want to celebrate a goal and then wait eight minutes and it’s taken off you.”

Arsenal have previously faced criticism for their physical approach on set pieces, particularly for crowding goalkeepers during corners. Bowen also referenced a separate incident earlier in the month, when West Ham were denied a penalty in a 3-0 defeat to Brentford after Tomas Soucek was held inside the box.

“Corners are physical. The Premier League is physical. That’s why everyone loves it,” Bowen said. “You have to expect contact at corners. If you give that, you have to give all the holding calls in the world, and that’s not the way people want the game to go.”

The result left West Ham in 18th place, just one point from safety, while Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the table to five points over Manchester City.

VAR has continued to face widespread scrutiny this season. A supporters’ survey conducted in March showed that 75 percent of Premier League fans do not support its continued use.

Despite the criticism, the Premier League maintains that VAR has improved decision accuracy while remaining less disruptive than in other major European competitions.

— Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford / Reuters