Callum Wilson refuses to back down on Arsenal controversy as VAR audio released

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Callum Wilson claimed that the referee should've let his goal stand against Arsenal before VAR intervened - with the striker insisting "if there’s consistency then there’s no complaints" as the fallout continues.

The West Ham forward thought he'd scored a stoppage time equaliser against the Gunners, which would've aided the Hammers' survival ambitions and changed the dynamics of the title race. The goal was originally given before a lengthy VAR check eventually ruled it out for a foul on David Raya .

Debate has raged on since the incident with opinion split. Many have claimed it to be a foul whilst others insist such incidents happen at every corner on a weekly basis - with Arsenal seen as pioneers when it comes to benefitting from the more physical approach.

PGMOL chief Howard Webb came out and explained why the foul was correct but Wilson, who conceded his bias, felt there was a lack of consistency and cited the number of fouls taking place from the one corner.

He told Sky Sports : "For me it’s against us, are you saying it’s a foul? Possibly. But of course, there’s incidents that have happened throughout the season that are similar.

"I just think if there’s consistency then there’s no complaints from anybody and I think with that specific incident five seconds before it there’s obviously other fouls that are in there. So, if you’re going to pull up one you’re going to have to pull up all of them. I think he probably should have just let it see itself out and think it’s just handbags in the box and it is what it is. But it wasn’t to be.

"I’m going to say yes (it should’ve stood) because I scored the goal for one. But for two, we see a lot of teams nowadays doing a similar situation in the box blocking goalkeepers.

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"We analysed Arsenal’s set-pieces before the match and there was a lot of that going on in there. That’s not just to say they do it, everybody does it."

Wilson drew attention to a possible foul by Leandro Trossard whilst Declan Rice was also holding Konstantinos Mavropanos just behind Raya. The seismic incident has put Arsenal in pole position to claim the title - their first for 22 years - ahead of Manchester City .

The full transcript between referee Chris Kavanagh and the VAR officials in Stockley Park has now been released, with the assistants advising for the incident to be rechecked...and ultimately ruled out.

In light of the incident Webb has claimed that there will be analysis into whether more needs to be done when it comes to fouls at set pieces. He said: "This season's been a little bit more unique than previous ones about the number of contacts in the penalty area, and it does create a challenge for the officials.

"We'll certainly continue consulting with all of the people I mentioned earlier about the type of game they want to see, because we have seen more involvement from set-piece coaches bringing players together in these areas, looking for those marginal gains."

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