Michael Owen wants the Premier League to introduce a rule which prevents so much grappling at corners after West Ham’s disallowed goal against Arsenal.
VAR produced, without doubt, its biggest call since its introduction after advising Chris Kavanagh to check the monitor following a foul on David Raya.
🤔 Do you agree that attackers should be banned from entering the six-yard box at corners?
Cann tells BBC Sport: "I feel that the time has come now for a law change whereby no attackers are allowed in the six-yard box before the corner is taken."
West Ham thought they had rescued a point in stoppage time; however, Callum Wilson’s goal was eventually ruled out.
But following a season embroiled with controversy from set pieces, Owen has finally had enough and has called for change.
Michael Owen wants a rule change after West Ham vs Arsenal
Michael Owen believes that the rules on corners need to change after West Ham were denied an equaliser against Arsenal.
There was so much grappling going on in the penalty area before the disallowed goal, and VAR only seemed to judge Pablo’s clash with Raya.
Discussing the incident on his official social media, Owen wrote: “It was definitely a foul on Raya in yesterday’s game.
Was this the most nerve-racking moment you’ve ever experienced as an Arsenal fan? If not, what was? 😬
Mark Clattenburg has had his say on that disallowed goal…
“However, weren’t there fouls elsewhere in the same passage? It’s becoming virtually impossible to officiate a game at corners.
“The authorities are going to need to consider bringing in a rule to stop this farce that has taken the shine off this season.”
Mark Clattenburg exclusively told Arsenal Insider that VAR was correct to send Kavanagh to the monitor and that a foul was awarded.
But as Owen points out, why were the other incidents not looked at and quite simply, the leeway on grappling needs to change.
Darren Cann says attackers should be banned from the six-yard box at corners
Former assistant official Darren Cann has suggested that attackers should be banned from the six-yard box at corners.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “I feel that the time has come now for a law change whereby no attackers are allowed in the six-yard box before the corner is taken.”
This could be an interesting way to prevent players from just looking to bundle the ball home from set pieces, which is spoiling the league’s quality.
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