West Ham United's battle to avoid Premier League relegation suffered a severe and controversial setback on Tuesday night, as a late disputed penalty handed Nottingham Forest a crucial 2-1 victory at the London Stadium.
VAR Denies Hammers Before Forest Fight Back
The match turned on two major interventions from the Video Assistant Referee. The home side had taken the lead through a Murillo own goal and believed they had doubled their advantage when Crysencio Summerville fired home from distance. However, after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled out for an offside against new striker Taty Castellanos earlier in the move.
That decision proved instantly pivotal. Seconds later, Nottingham Forest equalised as Nicolas Dominguez met an Elliot Anderson corner to loop a header over Kyle Walker-Peters. "That was the crucial moment of the game," a frustrated manager Nuno Espirito Santo said afterwards. "A two-goal lead... All the stadium felt the pain of the goal ruled out."
Late Penalty Drama Seals Hammers' Fate
The drama reached its peak in the 88th minute. West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola came to punch clear a corner and made contact with Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White. Notably, no Forest players appealed for a foul, but VAR official Tony Harrington advised referee Tony Harrington to review the incident on the pitchside monitor. A penalty was awarded, which Gibbs-White converted for the winner.
Nuno, a former goalkeeper himself, was incensed. "You cannot stop your movement, you go for the ball," he argued. "How many times you see this happen and nothing given... For me it is not a penalty." Midfielder Tomas Soucek was equally scathing, telling Sky Sports the decision was "a joke" and lamenting that the Premier League was becoming "more like basketball".
Relegation Picture Darkens for West Ham
The consequences of the defeat are stark for West Ham. Instead of closing the gap to safety to just one point with a victory, they now find themselves seven points adrift in the relegation zone. While Nuno insisted "it is not over," his tone was unconvincing after a loss to a direct rival.
For Nottingham Forest and manager Sean Dyche, the victory was a vital relief, ending a run of four consecutive defeats. "Delighted with the result," Dyche said. "There was a lot of noise around the game... but overall we deserved it with the mentality of the players." For West Ham, the noise is now one of growing alarm, amplified by a deep sense of injustice.
