Sir, – As a West Ham fan, I wish to challenge the claim by the Guardian newspaper that the referee was correct in his judgment that the Arsenal goalkeeper was fouled by a West Ham player and therefore the subsequent score should not be allowed. (The Irish Times, May 12th).
The report concedes that an Arsenal player committed a serious offence in the same incident, stating that “the way Declan Rice wrestled Konstantinos Mavropanos ... cannot be allowed”.
The question that I and many football fans would like answered is why the referee did not follow-up his decision with a penalty to West Ham. Both incidents conform to the definition of foul play as they were both ‘clear and obvious’.
Alternatively, the referee could have ignored both fouls on the basis that such fouls are ignored every week in the Premier League – Yours, etc,
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JOHN McGRATH
Ashford,
Co Wicklow.
