Mark Clattenburg has reacted to the incident involving Alphonse Areola as West Ham suffered a 2-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
West Ham played host to Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium in what was a must-win game for them.
They went into the match four points behind Forest in 17th place, and now find themselves seven points adrift of safety with less than half the season left.
Nuno Espirito Santo now faces an uncertain future as he has failed to drive the Hammers out of the relegation zone in the Premier League.
HEARTBREAKER! How are you feeling after Hammers 1-2 Forest 💔
The defeat which sends West Ham down?
Mark Clattenburg sides against Alphonse Areola in controversial incident
Clattenburg, a former Premier League referee, believes that Tony Harrington made the right decision on Tuesday night.
Harrington was the on-field referee, and he had some big decisions to make in a game that saw Forest pick up three huge points on the road against West Ham.
The main talking point from the game was the penalty incident as Areola gave away a spot kick, which was eventually converted by Morgan Gibbs-White.
What did YOU make of the penalty which gifted Forest the win?
What defence could Areola have?
The French goalkeeper was deemed to have caught Gibbs-White in the face as he attempted to clear the ball out of harm’s way.
Clattenburg believes that if he had got the ball along with the player, a penalty may not have been given, but as he failed to make any contact with the ball, it was the right decision.
He told Hammers News exclusively: “Alphonse Areola comes out to punch the ball from a free kick played into the penalty area.
“When coming out, he must at least get his hand to the ball, but he fails and catches Morgan Gibbs White in the face, resulting in a penalty kick.
“If Areola gets something on the ball, then he may have got away with giving a penalty away.”
How did Nuno Espirito Santo react as two decisions went against West Ham?
Nuno understandably cut a frustrated figure after full-time as he watched two decisions go against his side.
The Areola penalty incident was undoubtedly the big talking point, but Crysencio Summerville also had a goal chalked off as Valentin Castellanos was deemed to be marginally offside.
“That was the crucial moment of the game, a two-goal lead. We were playing good, creating problems for Forest,” said Nuno.
“All the stadium felt the pain of the goal ruled out. Forest scored but we had chances to change it around.”
However, Nuno issued a strong response to the penalty incident and stated, that as a former goalkeeper, Areola had to go for the ball.
In his view, a penalty should not have been given.
He stated: “I was a goalkeeper and you cannot stop your movement, you go for the ball; it has a trajectory and a line.
“How many times you see this happen and nothing given. Not in my days and not today, it should not be given.
“That is how I see it. We have the referee, the VAR and we have to accept. For me, it is not a penalty.”
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