Rio Ferdinand baffled Chelsea weren’t given penalty vs West Ham after Tomas Soucek ‘save’

Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand was shocked and joked that West Ham midfielder Thomas Soucek made a “great save” as Chelsea were angered that they did not get a penalty awarded in their 1-1 draw with the Hammers on Saturday. With the game edging towards a draw, Conor Gallagher’s shot hit the arm of Soucek but the referee and VAR opted against pointing to the spot.

Ferdinand joked that it was a good stop from Soucek as his intervention prevented a goal. “Well I was happy the referee and VAR and didn’t see it, but he more or less saved it,” Ferdinand told BT Sport.

“It was a great save. Gallagher hits one with his left foot on the edge of the box, and from the next angle here you can see no wonder why these players in Chelsea shirts are going crazy. He gets down really well to his left, what a save that is. I can’t believe that’s not been given. It’s unbelievable. It’s lucky.”

Former Premier League referee Peter Walton explained the call and was surprised that the referee was not asked to look at the VAR monitor. “Well the law is quite clear, it actually says about unnaturally bigger, making that area of the ball to strike, and the VAR clearly thinks that the arm is in a natural position there, going down to break his fall,” he said.

“When you look at it closely and you analyse it almost in slow motion, you can see that the ball is past his knee and then he decides to put his arm there. For me, I think that’s a deliberate contact, and I’m disappointed the VAR didn’t give the opportunity for the referee to go and have a second look at it.”

Ferdinand was “delighted” that Walton had agreed with him on this rare occasion, though Chelsea will feel they were denied an opportunity to seal a crucial three points. “Well I’m delighted, Peter, actually, myself, but I agree with Peter – it’s a definite stonewall penalty and I don’t see how you can’t give that,” Ferdinand added. “Even watching that afterwards, the human eye tells you that’s a penalty. Joe’s perfectly right, the distance between Gallagher, the player who takes the shot, and Soucek, is one of the key elements.”

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