Premier League

West Ham United: Dan Lawless slams Michael Oliver over Craig Dawson red card

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Image for West Ham United: Dan Lawless slams Michael Oliver over Craig Dawson red card

Presenter Dan Lawless has slammed Michael Oliver for sending off Craig Dawson in West Ham United’s recent defeat.

In the Premier League this weekend, the Hammers travelled to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. In the end, the match was settled by a late winner from Christian Pulisic, but the game faced a highly controversial moment before that.

Indeed, Romelu Lukaku had snuck past Dawson in the penalty box only to be pulled down by the defender. Oliver awarded the penalty and initially gave a yellow card only for VAR to intervene.

The referee then proceeded to change the card to a red one and send Dawson off to an early shower. Jorginho then actually missed his penalty, but Pulisic netted the winner shortly after.

Did Craig Dawson deserve a red card for his foul?

Yes

Yes

No

No

In the aftermath, though, Lawless vented his anger at Oliver for the decision to send the player off. He took to Twitter to say: “Michael Oliver is a disgrace, first the actual pull was outside the box second there’s not enough in that for a red card, Lukaku was never scoring.

“Also double jeopardy???”

TIF thoughts on West Ham and the decision…
Ultimately, it’s a result that leaves West Ham in trouble for a number of reasons. Their chances of making the Europa League are in major doubt as they sit in seventh in the league, two points off Manchester United with just four games to play.
Beyond that, the fact that Dawson will now be suspended after picking up a straight red card adds even more woe to the club’s current defensive problems. Indeed, Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna, and Issa Diop are all out with injuries and so this is the last thing David Moyes would have wanted to see happen against Chelsea.
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Some fans will agree with Lawless, and others will take Oliver’s side. Either way, one thing is for sure, the loss of another defender couldn’t have come at a worse time.

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