West Ham were denied a last-minute equaliser at Sheffield United thanks to VAR.VAR adjudged Declan Rice to have handled the ball before he set-up Robert Snodgrass, who scored at the near post.The West Ham fans in the away and David Moyes celebrated wildly.It appeared as though they had just earned a brilliant away point.However, those celebrations soon stopped when it was announced that VAR was checking the goal for a potential handball.

And it didn't take long for Michael Oliver to then rule out the goal.

It was never a deliberate handball but rules state that you can’t benefit from a handball in the build-up to a goal.

Therefore, it's the rules' fault rather than VAR.

The handball rule states that the following handball situations (even if accidental) will result in a free-kick if:

  • the ball goes into the goal after touching an attacking player’s hand/arm
  • a player gains control/possession of the ball after it has touched their hand/arm and then scores, or creates a goal-scoring opportunity
  • the ball touches a player’s hand/arm which has made their body unnaturally bigger
  • the ball touches a player’s hand/arm when it is above their shoulder (unless the player has deliberately played the ball which then touches their hand/arm)

West Ham's loss means they sit just two points above relegation. Meanwhile, Sheffield United's win has seen them leap above Tottenham and Manchester United into fifth. Yes, fifth!

Remarkably, Chris Wilder's side are now just four points off a Champions League spot. They couldn't, could they?