West Ham were denied an equaliser in their 2-0 loss to WSL leaders Chelsea on Sunday night; Riko Ueki's goal was disallowed for offside on the West Ham forward, but replays showed she was clearly onside; there is no VAR in the Women's Super League so decision was not over-ruled
Monday 25 March 2024 13:00, UK
West Ham manager Rehanne Skinner was left fuming with a wrongly disallowed goal in their 2-0 defeat to Chelsea.
With West Ham trailing after Aggie Beever-Jones' second-minute opener, West Ham thought they equalised in the first half when Riko Ueki tapped home from close range, but the assistant referee flagged the Hammers forward as offside.
Replays, however, showed she was clearly onside and with no VAR in the Women's Super League, the on-field decision stood.
Chelsea held on for a 2-0 London derby win as the Blues went back to the top of the WSL table with five games remaining.
Skinner fumed: "The bottom line is, if that's how I operated in my job, I wouldn't be in my job. It's a frequent occurrence. I'm so proud of my players. We created some massive moments in the game, good chances, and it's disappointing we haven't got the points for show for it.
"If VAR is the road we need to go down to get the results right then that's what we should be doing. Ultimately, referees aren't professional in this game so they're not in a position where they're solely focusing on these games. That's got to change. The game has got so much growing up to do - it's not right across the board.
"To be honest, it seems like at the time that we scored the goal which was more than a metre onside, obviously we go in in a completely different landscape. Last week there were two goals that were scored against us, neither of which should have stood which is another point, draw for us.
"In the Tottenham game [which West Ham lost 4-3], we get an apology after the game for a goal that should never have stood for offside. I'm getting a bit sick of it to be honest.
"We have had chances today and obviously we need to make sure we take those chances but just the way that the game goes on, we just cannot keep having those types of mistakes in games because it completely ruins the game."
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes said in October that it is "ludicrous" and "embarrassing" that goal-line technology and VAR are not in the women's game after Chelsea's Guro Reiten was denied a goal against Tottenham after the ball clearly crossed the line.
However, Sky Sports' Izzy Christiansen doesn't believe VAR is the current solution.
When asked if VAR is the answer to the officiating problem, Christiansen said: "Not yet. I think the investment and energy needs to go elsewhere, developing the officials in order to give them the opportunity to flourish professionally. They need to become better equipped to make better decisions on the pitch. The more professionalism and training is given the better the decisions will become. It's a difficult one but I'm not for VAR coming in yet. I want more professionalism for the officials.
"Not many teams score against Chelsea so when a goal is wrongly disallowed it's a difficult pill to swallow. It's a fantastic bit of football. She's more than a metre onside. I can totally understand West Ham's frustration."
Sky Sports' Karen Carney added: "We talk about standards. We have to give the referees the best possible support, training and environment. I was speaking to someone where a women's league will have VAR without goal-line technology, so things like this don't happen whilst there is an unbalance in standards between officials and players. I feel the players and managers. There is so much pressure on them."
