Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola: West Ham penalty contradicted referees’ advice

Andoni Iraola, the unhappy manager of Bournemouth, said that a contentious penalty handed to West Ham in a thrilling 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium was a flagrant violation of the Premier League referees’ recommendations.

After Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross grazed Tyler Adams’ outstretched arm, match official Chris Kavanagh penalized the Cherries midfielder after VAR intervened.

Niclas Fullkrug, a Hammers substitute, nearly headed home Wan-Bissaka’s right-wing ball, but most people inside the stadium missed Adams’ alleged infraction.

After Lucas Paqueta of West Ham scored the controversial penalty kick in the 87th minute, Enes Unal’s incredible free kick in the 90th minute saved a point for the home team.

“I’m very, very disappointed with the penalty because it’s an action that we spoke with the referees before the season started,” Iraola remarked, alluding to talks with Professional Game Match Officials Limited prior to the current campaign.

Because it was not natural, they specifically instructed us not to train our players to defend with their hands behind their backs.

“Well, since it’s costing us penalties, we give these instructions (to put hands behind backs),” I added. “No, don’t worry, it’s natural, and it won’t cost you,” he said. The first one, Bam: penalty.

“Obviously, it comes naturally since everyone who has played football knows that you always end up with one hand down and one up after sprinting to stop a shot or a cross.

“It doesn’t really alter the course; Fullkrug’s header nearly gave them a goal, and I’m really disappointed.”

Nobody noticed live, I think. But it’s not that nobody noticed, it’s that you have expressly told us that the defenders cannot defend with their hands behind their back because we don’t want the game like this.

“What do I do next week? What do I tell the defenders?”

Paqueta coolly dispatched the ball into the bottom-right corner from 12 yards to spark wild scenes in the away end but the Hammers’ joy was short-lived.

Iraola was not surprised to see Cherries substitute Unal fire a spectacular set-piece into the top-left corner from around 30 yards during the thrilling finale.

“I think everyone involved in the team straight away was thinking ‘this is going to be close’ because he trains a lot,” said Iraola.

“He’s our specialist and the consistency is good.

“It’s always difficult because it was quite far but I think everyone felt that if it’s not a goal, it’s going to get close.”

Cherries forward Antoine Semenyo and Hammers captain Jarrod Bowen each hit the woodwork in an opening period edged by the visitors.

The hosts improved following the restart and wasted a series a second-half chances before the late twists.

Bournemouth climbed to sixth – to sit above Aston Villa on goal difference – while West Ham remained 14th.

Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui, who enjoyed a much-needed 2-1 win over Wolves last Monday, said: “It was a pity for us because we were very close to achieving the three points. But it’s true that Unal scored a fantastic free-kick.

“It has been a very demanding match for both teams. We did very, very well in a lot of minutes. We were better than them in the first half.

“We had more expected goals than them in all the match, despite them having more shots.

I have a lot of good things to say about the team. The squad exhibited excellent behavior.