It’s safe to say that the overturned call for a foul on David Raya during the Arsenal v West Ham game has got everyone talking.
The Gunners were massively relieved after Chris Kavanagh went to the screen and overruled his initial decision to award the goal.
In the end, most would agree that the decision was right. Well, unless you’re Peter Schmeichel.
The former Man United man went on a remarkable rant while on punditry for ViaPlay, suggesting the decision was completely wrong.
However, sticking up for Arsenal once again, former Gunners defender Martin Keown has fired back at Schmeichel.
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Keown and Schmeichel are no strangers to going head to head. They have a heated history as opponents from the 1990s.
Now, defending his own former club, Keown has effectively accused Schmeichel of showing bias.
“What’s remarkable is that it’s a goalkeeper affected by this…if it had happened to him then he’d have been screaming from the rooftops that that’s a foul. If Schmeichel is still playing and he gets fouled to that degree…come on, it’s ridiculous,” Keown said on TalkSPORT.
““He’s angry because it’s Arsenal. Did he not play for Manchester City? Did he not play for Manchester United? The current rivals and the former rivals of Arsenal. There was no disguise to the West Ham situation. There was three fouls on him.
“We’ve seen that all season, it’s been like a wrestling match. Until yesterday, they’ve stopped putting the ball in the box, Arsenal, because they’ve been wrestled to the ground so they’re now going with the short corner which shows creativity, imagination.”
Schmeichel’s opinion here is quite remarkable
Every so often, a pundit is so wide of the mark that it is bordering on the ridiculous.
This is one of those occasions.
As Keown says, Schmeichel would have been shouting from the rooftops, as would the rest of his Manchester United teammates, had that decision gone against them back in the day.
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To suggest it’s the incorrect call when Raya is being fouled by not one but at least two West Ham players just makes you wonder if there really is an agenda from some.
Most former referees, players, and anyone watching the game would say it is a foul. Quite how or why Schmeichel thinks any different here is anyone’s guess.
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