Michael Owen has claimed that Andreas Pereira’s treatment towards Craig Dawson during West Ham United’s 3-1 win over Fulham on Sunday was ‘the stupidest act I have seen on a football field’, as he told Premier League Productions (09/10/22 at 2:55 pm).
The attacking midfielder had put Fulham into the lead after only five minutes, but he was costing his team at the other end 20 or so minutes later.
David Moyes’ side had a corner and Pereira could be seen trying to wrestle and stop Dawson in his tracks, added to the fact that he wasn’t also looking at the ball.
The former Manchester United player was then warned by on-field referee Chris Kavanagh to get his act together.
But less than 20 seconds later, he was seen throwing Dawson to the ground as another corner came in, which left the official with no choice but to award the spot-kick.
That moment ended up proving costly because, not only did Jarrod Bowen score from the spot, but summer signing Gianluca Scamacca continued his fine form by scoring his side’s second, before Michail Antonio came off the bench to also add his name to the team sheet.
Nonetheless, given the warning to Pereira, former England striker Owen just couldn’t understand his actions towards Dawson by the Fulham midfielder.
“Well, in isolation the foul isn’t the worst foul I have seen,” said Owen. “It’s not the 100% most stonewall penalty I have ever seen.
“But when you look at this sequence. The referee warns him, then all the fans are shouting, and the players are making a song and dance about it.
“Bearing in mind all those things, it has to be possibly the stupidest act on a football field or one of them I have ever seen.
“He is basically telling the whole world just watch what I am about to do, then goes and does it. Absolute insanity what he does.”
WEST HAM STARTING TO CLIMB
After a pretty abject start to the season for the Hammers, they are starting to pick up and climb the table.
That’s three wins on the bounce since their return from the international break and they are now just touching distance from those European places, as well as continuing their fine form in the European Conference League in midweek.
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