Sorry Scott, officials got this one spot on

FULHAM wanted Arsenal’s equaliser disallowed, feeling that Rob Holding was standing in an offside position and interfering with play. But it was right that this goal stood. I would not say Holding was in the line of vision of goalkeeper Alphonse Areola as Dani Ceballos took his shot, and it didn’t look like he attempted to play the ball before Eddie Nketiah tapped it in. So, according to the laws of the game, Holding didn’t do anything other than stand in an offside position. And that, unfortunately for Fulham, is not an offence. I understand Scott Parker’s anger, given emotions are running high in his club’s fight against relegation, but this was a good goal. Earlier in the game, we saw Ceballos’s potential opener disallowed after his Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka had strayed fractionally offside. It was close, clearly, but once the lines were drawn, they showed Saka’s foot behind Antonee Robinson, so the strike had to be ruled out. For Fulham’s penalty, once referee Craig Pawson had awarded the spot-kick in real time, VAR Stuart Attwell was never going to overturn the decision. Replays showed Arsenal centreback Gabriel had stepped on Mario Lemina’s foot. Maybe the Fulham player made the most of the challenge as he launched himself to the ground, but that contact was enough for Attwell to back Pawson’s decision. A quick check for offside later — another close call because Gabriel’s left knee was just millimetres ahead of Ola Aina’s shoulder — and Fulham had their opener courtesy of Maja’s clinical penalty. To those watching on television it may have seemed a fixture full of controversy, but the officials did their jobs.