Fulham 3-2 Wolves: Willian penalty defeats Wolves in midst of VAR debate

In their Premier League loss to Fulham, Wolves were involved in yet another dispute involving VAR. 

After a VAR review, with the score tied at 2, referee Michael Salisbury gave out the third penalty of the game.

Salisbury reversed his ruling after the VAR instructed him to check the pitchside monitor after he had first waved play on after Harry Wilson and Joao Gomes collided in the box, and Willian scored his second penalty kick of the half.

The hosts took the lead in the seventh minute when Alex Iwobi side-footed Antonee Robinson’s cutback between Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa’s legs. Twenty-two minutes in, Matheus Cunha gave Wolves the equaliser when he headed in Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s cross after the Frenchman had expertly beat Robinson down the right.

A little before the hour mark, Willian gave Fulham the lead again after Nelson Semedo had tripped over Tom Cairney on the outside of the box. However, Wolves quickly received their penalty kick inside the last 20 minutes, when Tim Reem tripped over Hwang Hee-chan, allowing the South Korean winger to score Wolves’ second equaliser from 12 yards.

Fulham managed to steal all three points by riding their luck and taking advantage of another late penalty call. Semedo’s catch of Cairney in the area resulted in the first spot-kick referee Salisbury gave, albeit the VAR reviewed the ruling in detail. Even though Semedo touched the ball during his collision with Cairney, it maintained the on-field ruling.

At around fifteen minutes, Wolves scored a penalty of their own after Hwang raced toward goal after a long ball over the top, only to be stopped by Reem inside the box. The call seemed clear-cut, but the VAR reviewed the judgment more quickly.

Play had been waved on by Salisbury in stoppage time when Wilson of Fulham struck the deck; however, the VAR directed him to his pitchside monitor and gave a third penalty, which Willian scored.

When the ball accidentally struck the Fulham defender’s arm in the last seconds of the game, there was time for a late penalty appeal, but the play was rightfully waved on.

With the victory, Fulham stopped their four-match Premier League losing streak and won in the league for the first time since defeating Sheffield United 3-1 on October 7.

Decisions against Wolves persist…

Wolves supporters feel that their team has been on the losing end of VAR many times this season. They were denied a late penalty in their first match against Manchester United, even though Sasa Kalajdzic was knocked down by United goalkeeper Andre Onana.

Following the game, Wolves officials received a message from Referee Chief Howard Webb, the head of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).

After Fabio Silva fouled George Baldock in the area during Wolves’ 2-1 loss to Sheffield United at the beginning of November, the team was awarded a stoppage-time penalty.

Subsequently, Wolves lost a crucial judgment just before the international break when Hwang was given a red card for bringing down Fabian Schar during a 2-2 draw with Newcastle; Webb reiterated that this ruling was erroneous.

Hwang gave Wolves a first-half lead, and they will be disappointed with their defeat at Craven Cottage since they also missed the mark. They will be without Lemina and Gomes for their next Premier League trip to Arsenal on Saturday due to their extensive yellow card collection.