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Wolves remained furious after seeing the stoppage-time equaliser against West Ham United sent off following a VAR on Saturday, with manager Gary O’Neil describing it as one of the worst decisions he has ever seen.
Wolves thought they had made it 2-2 when Maximilian Kilman headed in for a corner, but referee Tony Harrington asked a monitor to check for an offside decision on Tawanda Chirewa, who was in front of West Ham goalkeeper Łukasz Fabianski.
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With Chirewa in an offside position, Kilman’s header went for a corner, and Wolves claimed Fabianski had no chance of saving it anyway.
The 2-1 defeat helps keep Wolves in eleventh position and saw seventh-placed West Ham move a point over problems with Manchester United.
“My opinion, David Moyes’ opinion, Fabianski’s opinion, is that it’s an outrageous decision. Terrible, horrible,” said O’Neil, who had to come off to calm his coaching staff after the final whistle.
“I don’t get it. I can’t find an explanation, it’s one of the worst decisions I’ve ever witnessed.
“It was a terrible resolution and I’ll tell you why it’s a terrible resolution, because the only way it can have an effect on the goalkeeper is to have an effect on how he can move, which he doesn’t, and if it has an effect on his vision, which it doesn’t. “
For Wolves, it’s a blow after allowing West Ham back into play in the second half, having taken a deserved lead thanks to a Pablo Sarabia penalty.
A Lucas Paquetá penalty equalised for Array before James Ward Prowse scored straight from a corner with a delightfully curled effort to give them the lead.
Wolves were then denied an equaliser in the cruelest way after a spirited finish.
“If you look out of the corner of your eye, Fabianski can obviously see the ball over Tawanda’s head,” O’Neil added. “He’s a fully qualified professional referee in front of a screen. Everyone thinks it’s a terrible decision, but a highly professional decision. “The referee stands in front of a screen, with repetition, and manages to make a mistake. “
On Ward Prowse’s anomalous goal, O’Neil said: “I haven’t noticed a goal like this since I’ve been in children’s football. So it’s three crazy events, first on our part to allow them to get back into the game, then on the Side of the Moment. A goal with which we could do better, and then the VAR resolution at the end. Three crazy incidents that gave West Ham the three problems they didn’t deserve.