West Ham United’s disallowed goal against Arsenal has sparked fresh debate after Peter Schmeichel argued that it should have stood, a view that has surprised Martin Keown, given the former Manchester United goalkeeper’s background. The incident involved interference with David Raya during a corner, which led to VAR intervention and the goal being ruled out.
The goal was disallowed after officials concluded that West Ham players had obstructed Raya, preventing him from dealing cleanly with the ball. The set-piece situation closely resembled Arsenal’s own corner routines, with multiple players crowding the goalkeeper’s space. The decision has since triggered widespread discussion among supporters and pundits.
Schmeichel and Keown Debate Decision
As quoted by the Metro, Martin Keown responded to Schmeichel’s comments, saying: “He’s holding his arm! I’d like to think I’m a fair man; this is a just decision.
‘What’s remarkable is that it’s a goalkeeper affected by this… if it had happened to him [Schmeichel] then he’d have been screaming from the rooftops that that’s a foul.
‘If he [Schmeichel] is still playing and he gets fouled to that degree… come on, it’s ridiculous.’”
Keown’s reaction underlines the disagreement over whether the challenge on Raya should be considered a foul or a legitimate part of set-piece play. His comments suggest that goalkeepers deserve clear protection in such situations, especially when contact directly impacts their ability to claim the ball.
Wider Debate Over Set Piece Tactics
Some observers have pointed out that Arsenal themselves have used similar set-piece approaches this season, with players crowding opposition goalkeepers in attacking corners. This has led to suggestions that West Ham may simply have experienced a similar tactic used against them, intensifying debate among neutrals about consistency in decision-making.
Ultimately, the controversy reflects ongoing uncertainty over how physicality in the penalty area should be interpreted, particularly in VAR reviews involving goalkeepers. Match officials are required to apply the laws of the game consistently, and discussions surrounding this incident are likely to continue as fans and pundits remain divided on the outcome.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us through this link…
its one thing for the opposing fans to be illogical but its diabolical for the commentators and former players to be so unprofessional and biased about an obvious call. Their hate for Arsenal blinds them completely that they forget to separate themselves from their emotion. they have all turn into trolls.
Agree Ibrahim. The facade many of them have been using for much of the season is going away now that we are finally so close to the promised land and in control here at the very end.
What a Dick!!!! And I don’t mean Keown.
Scmichael cannot be different from the emotionally disgusted and envious fans of other clubs who are against Arsenal. For a former player of his caliber to say that, simply means he prefers to ridicule himself than to speak the truth. Since when did football become a wrestling match?
Unfortunately for those fans, Arsenal will dominate English football for a very long time to come.
What tickles me is that it’s not only Schmeichel. He sounded unhinged in the same way that Agbonlahor who struggles to keep any level of neutrality when broadcasting, having multiple times said on air that he really doesn’t like Arsenal. Keown is overly biased towards Arsenal but doesn’t rubbish other clubs. Danny Murphy likewise is a Liverpool supporter but still manages to offer balanced punditry. Pardew on the other hand managed to make a complete twerp of himself with his suggestion about an asterisk should Arsenal win the league.
Some of them make a real effort to be professional about it – that’s why it bugs me how everyone goes after Gary Neville in particular – he doesn’t get it right every time but he does show awareness and clearly makes an effort at neutrality. He’s not my favourite person, but I do at least respect that, however so many people attack him for bias – he’s one of the better ones from that perspective.
It’s difficult to show restraint but to me that’s the first rule of sensible broadcasting. I generally find Neville ok. Sky, the Beeb are examples of stations that mostly act impartially. Talksport, compared to how they used to be, is a much better product nowadays but some pundits and hosts fall below that higher standard. The trouble is that having Joe Public phoning in is a perfect opportunity to go overboard and get reactions.
The list is huge, the raw hatred to Arsenal is baffling.
Martin Keown is obviously 100% correct here. As much as schmeichel’s bias is clearly coming out (in a bizarre way imo) Martin is, himself, an extremely biased pundits. I like him a lot, in part for that reason (I think also for the funny contrast between his soft spoken personality Vs his monstrous on field persona), but I think it’s important to be aware of it. Had the disallowed goal actually been controversial (e.g. bit of blocking/contact more similar to the ones we’ve seen go in our favour that everyone is so upset about, but no hands on Raya), he’d still be saying the goal should have been disallowed, almost certainly.
Lamentable Guardiola yesterday blaming refs, VAR and now begging Palace to do him favours after seeing his attempt failed with West Ham. We’re now seeing the delicacy and hidden side of Guardiola. Arsenal didn’t arrive at this stage overnight; unbeaten in UCL. Where were you Guardiola? Don’t forget the charges.
It kind of got me when Pep was complaining about the bunching of city130’s schedule recently, which most managers do at one time or another, while Arsenal was going through a stretch of 3 games, including 2 in the CL, in six days.
I agree that there are way too many match days that are squeezed into the calendar; however, if you’re going to complain about it, you should do so as often when it doesn’t affect your club as when it does. To imply there is a bias by the PL against your team specifically is just wrong imo. Especially if you’re “won” 5 of the last 6 titles under questionable circumstances.
Schmeichel is an outlier on this compared to ex players & pundits. Keane, Redknapp, Rooney & Neville all clear its a foul as soon as they see the replay. Neville’s analysis of problems with Arsenal play is excellent, he also highlighted that White’s injury was bcos he didnt commit to the tackle, & got hurt as a result.
What do you expect from someone who hates Arsenal, and publically said he was happy to see Arsenal lose to Liverpool?