West Ham vs QPR referee faces calls to be fired as fans get angry over ‘one of the worst’ decisions
West Ham United felt they got a really unfair decision in their game against Queens Park Rangers, which many say is the worst in the Championship this season.
After a three-week break, West Ham had the chance to go top of the league if they won at home versus QPR. Nuno Espirito Santo’s team had won four of their first eight games, but their hopes took a hit early on.
Just 18 minutes in, West Ham conceded a penalty when Tomas Soucek was judged to have fouled Paul Smyth in the box. But when fans saw the replay, it was clear Soucek made a perfect, clean tackle just outside the penalty area and got the ball first.
QPR’s Nicolas Madsen calmly scored from the spot, but fans all over the Championship called it one of the worst referee decisions of the season.
One fan wrote, “This referee should be fired immediately. Soucek won the ball outside the box, and his tackle was perfect!” Another said, “One of the worst decisions you’ll see this season. Soucek clearly gets the ball.” A third added, “Incredible tackle by Soucek, no penalty!”
Some even said VAR could have helped, tweeting, “Soucek made one of the best tackles I’ve seen, but the ref still gave a penalty. VAR might have made the right call here.”
West Ham nearly staged a comeback in the second half, with Jarrod Bowen scoring to level the game, but then missed a late penalty himself. Still, the conversation after the match mostly focused on the wrongly given penalty against them.
VAR would likely have overturned that decision, but many fans and clubs don’t want VAR in the Championship, even after some controversial calls like this.
Back in April, Championship clubs voted against introducing a simplified version of VAR called Football Video Support (FVS) for the 2026/27 season. FVS uses fewer resources and lets teams have two coach reviews per game. Despite the officials’ presentation last month, clubs didn’t want any kind of video review system in the league.
Some managers, like Philippe Clement, were disappointed by this. After a penalty was given against his team Ipswich in April, he said, “There are moments where I really miss VAR to help get the right decisions.”