Embattled Chelsea manager Graham Potter refused to be drawn on the decision not to award his side a penalty for a Tomas Soucek in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with West Ham United but called it a “good save”.
The Blues’ wretched run continued, managing only two wins from their past 13 games, with Joao Felix’s 16th-minute opener cancelled out by Emerson Palmieri’s 28th-minute strike.
But Chelsea seemed destined for a golden opportunity for a winner when substitute Conor Gallagher’s shot was blocked by Soucek’s left arm inside the box, yet the VAR didn’t intervene after the on-field referee didn’t award a spotkick.
The rationale behind the decision was the ruling that it is not a handball if the player is breaking their fall, yet Soucek’s positioning seemed wrong and the incident looked a clear-cut penalty.
“It looks like a handball to me,” Potter told BBC. “I didn’t know Tomas could get down that easily and save like that. But it’s not for me to say about VAR.
“Sometimes they go for you and sometimes they don’t, you just have to accept that.”
When pressed on it, Potter added: “I thought it was a good save. It looks like one of those ones that if it had been given I don’t think it would have been overturned.”
Chelsea’s own social media account clearly thought it was a penalty, writing “Soucek makes a great save from Conor Gallagher” at the time.
The Blues’ Twitter account doubled down on that, responding to a FIFA World Cup tweet on the best goalkeepers in the world by suggesting Soucek.
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