Fulham have named Josh King’s strike against Chelsea as their Goal of the Month for August, despite the teenager’s effort ultimately being ruled out.
The 18-year-old midfielder thought he had opened his account for the club as he span away from Chelsea’s defence and fired beyond Robert Sánchez, but the Blues fumed at the sight of Trevoh Chalobah in a heap on the ground after a collision with Rodrigo Muniz in the buildup.
VAR called for a review of the incident and on-field referee Rob Jones ultimately decided that Muniz had unfairly stepped on Chalobah’s foot, ruling the goal out. Professional Game Match Officials Limited chief Howard Webb described the controversial decision as a “misjudgement” on the part of the officials.
Chelsea ultimately went on to win the game 2–0 but Fulham have immortalised King’s goal by putting it above their two recognised strikes in August’s Goal of the Month competition.
“Though it was cruelly taken away from the 18-year-old, there is no denying the skill of the effort, as he confidently burst forward onto Sander Berge’s defence-splitting pass and cut inside Tosin, before sitting the former Fulham man down as he drilled a shot through his legs and inside the near post,” a club statement read.
“That he garnered 83.1% of the votes demonstrates how special a moment that was, or would have been.”
The Key Match Incidents panel, which reviews the big refereeing decisions every week, acknowledged both the VAR call and the decision from the on-field official were incorrect and believed the goal should have been allowed.
“The panel unanimously supported the original on-field call to allow play to continue and award the goal,” the group wrote.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fulham Fire Hilarious Dig at Chelsea Over Disallowed Goal Controversy.