Panned by fans on social media as one of the worst decisions of the season, Anthony Taylor's controversial call to award Arsenal a second-half penalty in their clash with West Ham on Wednesday has also been slammed by former Premier League official Mark Clattenburg.
Referee Taylor pointed to the spot after Alexandre Lacazette went to ground in the box under a challenge from West Ham's Vladimir Coufal.
Replays showed that the Czech defender got plenty of the ball in the challenge, leading many to assume that VAR would overturn the decision - despite Coufal catching the French forward slightly in his follow-through.
However, there was no invention from VAR official Peter Bankes, who simply confirmed Taylor's original conclusion.
Taylor himself didn't appear 100% confident in the call at first, allowing himself several moments to think before awarding the spot-kick.
"Coufal won the ball. It was a genuine attempt and a good challenge. How could that be a penalty?" Clattenburg asked rhetorically in his column for the Daily Mail.
Arsenal had taken the lead early in the second period thanks to a fine finish from Gabriel Martinelli, but the 46-year-old ex-Premier League official was in "no doubt" that the Gunners shouldn't have been given an opportunity to extend their lead from 12 yards out.
"We had another VAR and penalty controversy coming on the back of the weekend — and this one at Arsenal was wrong, no doubt about that."
Although Lacazette's resulting penalty was ultimately saved by Hammers' goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański, the previously cautioned Coufal saw a second yellow card for the tackle, leaving West Ham to play the remainder of the game a man down.
Watch: Vladimír Coufal controversially sent off for challenge on Alexandre Lacazette
Bankes, of course, did have the option to refer Taylor to the pitchside monitor to consider the decision again, but chose not to do so - something a frustrated Clattenburg struggled to understand.
"The VAR, Peter Bankes, should have sent Anthony Taylor to the pitchside monitor and he should have rescinded both the penalty and second yellow card for Coufal. OK, the penalty was saved, but West Ham were down to 10 men.
"Was this Bankes, who is an inexperienced VAR, worried about upsetting Taylor, one of the more experienced referees in the group?" Clattenburg wondered.
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"It was a clear and obvious error, that is why VAR exists. I cannot believe Bankes did not advise Taylor to take a look."
Arsenal went on to win the match 2-0 and move up to fourth place in the Premier League, something they realistically deserved on the balance of play.
With that said, the decision not to fully utilise VAR for such a crucial decision remains puzzling.
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham - Reaction via The Football Terrace