West Ham fans fume at 'borderline assault' - but Hammers star blamed for tackle
West Ham supporters have been left furious after the referee missed a potential red card just five minutes into their FA Cup defeat against Bristol City.
The Hammers were knocked out in the third round replay on Tuesday night, with Tommy Conway’s early goal enough for the Championship side to win it 1-0. David Moyes ’ side played most of the second half with 10 men after Said Benrahma was sent off for kicking out at Joe Williams following a foul.
But many West Ham fans felt Williams should not have even been on the pitch following a heavy challenge on Danny Ings in the fifth minute. The City midfielder thundered into a slide tackle on Ings, winning the ball before catching the striker on the ankle with his studs.
Williams escaped any punishment for the tackle from referee Darren England and there was no VAR available to check, with the system only in place at Premier League grounds in the competition. Reacting to a clip posted on Twitter, one fan wrote: “That is borderline assault – definitely a red.” One fan simply added: “Straight red that”.
Another wrote: “Williams should have been sent off in first half for tackle on Ings.” Another fan concluded: “Not excusing Benrahma, as that was a truly pathetic way to get yourself sent off, but the tackle on Ings in the first half was a shocker.”
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That was not the opinion of former Everton midfielder Leon Osman, who suggested that it was Ings who was at fault for the collision. “I thought Danny Ings gave Williams the opportunity to make that tackle,” he said on BBC One. “Absolutely, it was a strong tackle. It was borderline – we saw a tackle on the weekend [ Chelsea defender Malo Gusto got a yellow card for a poor tackle on Fulham winger Willian] for something very similar.
“For me, I was told back in my day that it was my own fault for getting on the end of those tackles because you’ve given the opposition the opportunity to go through you. I thought it was a good tackle.”
Said Benrahma was sent off for lashing out at Joe Williams in the second half (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images) HAVE YOUR SAY! What did you make of the tackle? Comment below.
Ex-Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff responded: “I thought he (Williams) got lucky, I’ve got to say. When you see it at full speed, the pace that he went in and the fact that he has gone very very high and there are obviously going to be consequences if you don’t quite get that right, I think a yellow card – given the fact it was an opportunity for him to win the ball – but to have nothing, I can certainly see it from West Ham’s point of view.”
West Ham were without key trio Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus and struggled to create at Ashton Gate. But there was another contentious moment, with City midfielder Taylor Gardner-Hickman fortunate to only see yellow after swinging an arm at Aaron Cresswell following a coming together.
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