Chelsea were denied a late penalty for an apparent Thomas Soucek handball in the 1-1 draw with West Ham on Saturday.

Conor Gallagher’s shot from the edge of the box was stopped by Soucek, who slid in and diverted it with his hand. 

Appeals from Chelsea players were dismissed by the referee and surprisingly, VAR did not intervene to flag it as a penalty.

According to Goal, VAR decided Soucek’s hand was in a natural position and did not make his body bigger, so it was not deemed a deliberate handball.

Former referee Peter Walton said the decision was wrong, insisting it should have been a penalty. He said on BT Sport: “The law is quite clear, it actually says unnaturally bigger.

“VAR clearly thinks the arm was in a natural position to break his fall. When you analyse it, you can see it’s past his knee and then he decides.

“For me, it’s deliberate and I’m disappointed VAR did not give the referee the opportunity to have a second look.”