Premier League corner chaos is heading to the World Cup and FIFA believes referees will handle it

Referees at the World Cup are aware of the growing trend in the Premier League for grappling and crowding around goalkeepers at corner kicks and “will deal with this in a very good way,” FIFA experts warned Monday.

The issue of how match officials deal with jostling between players at set-pieces was brought into full focus on Sunday when West Ham was denied a stoppage-time equalizer against title-chasing Arsenal.

In what has been described as the most significant video review in Premier League history, it was adjudged that Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya was being impeded by the flailing arm of West Ham player Pablo as they competed for the ball at a corner during a chaotic penalty-area scene where players from both teams were grabbing and pulling each other.

On many other occasions, similar levels of physical contact have gone unpunished, with Premier League officials seemingly having a high tolerance before intervening in a season when English soccer has gone back to basics with its tactics.

Pascal Zuberbühler, the former Switzerland goalkeeper who is the co-ordinator for FIFA’s Technical Study Group at the upcoming World Cup, acknowledged the need to be on top of the issue of grappling at corners “from the beginning” of the tournament.

“This is a trend — yes, of course — but I’m sure for our World Cup, we have the best referees there and the referees will be a key part of this situation,” he said on a video call with reporters.

“It’s difficult for the referees because a little foul on the goalkeeper in between so many people around you, it’s not easy to see this. But I’m very, very sure we, at FIFA, have the best referees anyway and we will deal with this in a very good way.”

For many, it was ironic that Arsenal — which wound up beating West Ham 1-0 to stay on course for a first Premier League title since 2004 — benefited from the controversial call.

Under manager Mikel Arteta, the Gunners have become the most dangerous team in England at corners and free kicks, embracing a designated set-piece specialist coach in Nicolas Jover and setting up specific patterns in dead-ball situations to cause maximum chaos.

Gilberto Silva, a World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002 and a Premier League champion with Arsenal in 2004, is also in the FIFA technical group and said dominating set plays was a “very strong weapon” for his former team.

However, he added: “I’m not so sure if the World Cup’s going to be the same way because you don’t have so much time to prepare the team for this tournament.

“Of course it can be a weapon to be used, and they have to use this, but not as a main one.”

The Premier League will be sending dozens of players to the World Cup — being held from June 11-July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico — as well as two of a total of 52 referees, and they'll have to adapt to a different threshold than the one they’ve been under for the previous nine months.

The late VAR call at the West Ham-Arsenal game remained a source of great debate into Monday, given its ramifications.

Not only did it propel Arsenal closer to the title, it also plunged West Ham closer to what would be a costly relegation from the lucrative Premier League.

With two games remaining, West Ham is in third-to-last place — the final relegation spot in the 20-team league.

The BBC reported Monday that the Hammers were set to contact English soccer’s referees’ body to raise its concerns about the decision and request further explanation. There was no official comment from the club, though its players and manager Nuno Espirito Santo were unhappy after the game.

Nuno said match officials had become confused.

“Even the referees don’t know what is a foul and what is not a foul — it creates doubt,” he said.

“You look at every corner in the Premier League and something like this is happening, not just today, but on all the pitches. I am talking about the lack of consistency.”

Arteta praised the match officials –— on-field referee Chris Kavanagh and VAR official Darren England, neither of whom are going to the World Cup — for having the “clarity … to make the right call” under so much pressure.

“Because,” he said, “you’re talking about a moment that can decide the history, the course, of two massive clubs that they are fighting with their lives to achieve their objectives.”

Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann, who ran the line in the 2010 World Cup final, said on the BBC that England “stepped up to the plate, he made the right decision and it’s the biggest VAR call in Premier League history.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Players appeal to referee Chris Kavanagh after he disallowed a goal by West Ham's Callum Wilson during the Premier League soccer match between West Ham and Arsenal in London, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

West Ham's head coach Nuno Espirito Santo reacts during the Premier League soccer match between West Ham and Arsenal in London, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

West Ham's Callum Wilson, center, scores a goal that was later disallowed following a video review during the Premier League soccer match between West Ham and Arsenal in London, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, center, is fouled by West Ham United's Pablo Felipe in the build up to Callum Wilson disallowed goal during the English Premier League match in London, Sunday May 10, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans returning to Washington on Monday are facing questions about a $1 billion Senate security proposal that could help pay for President Donald Trump’s ballroom as Democrats say they will try to defeat it.

Senate Republicans added the money for White House security to a spending bill that would restore funding for immigration enforcement agencies that Democrats have blocked since February. The steep security proposal was put forward after a man was charged with trying to assassinate Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last month.

Republicans are using a partisan budget maneuver to push the spending legislation through Congress without any Democratic votes. But in a letter to colleagues Monday morning, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats will fight it in other ways, including by pushing the Senate parliamentarian to strike the ballroom security money from the budget bill and offering amendments forcing Republicans to vote on it.

“The Republican-controlled Congress is preparing to answer this moment with a deficit-busting, party-line bill that pours billions more taxpayer dollars into a rogue ICE operation and a billion-dollar ballroom, while doing nothing to end the illegal war in Iran or ease the Republican affordability crisis bearing down on working families,” Schumer wrote in the letter.

It’s unclear if the security money will even have enough backing among Republicans. The House has not released its bill yet, but the Senate is expected to start voting on its version of the legislation this week.

While most GOP lawmakers have remained quiet on the proposal as they spent their recess out of Washington, some have publicly questioned whether they would support it.

“I’m going to look at it very carefully and make sure those things are in the national interest,” said Rep. Rob Wittman, a Virginia Republican who was in the Capitol last week to briefly gavel in a pro forma session of the House.

“I want to know the exact nature of the expenditures that would go there for security. So I think it’s a little premature to look at that and say, you know, yes or no to it," Wittman said.

Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., also said he wanted to hear more details about the proposal. He asked colleagues to recognize the “volatile times” and the need to ensure the president, members of Congress and guests can gather in a safe location.

"If Republican and Democratic members can take a step back and say this is a real security issue, then maybe it will get done. But if Democrats dig in, it’ll be really challenging to pass that, as you can only imagine,” Haridopolos said.

Trump has said the ballroom's construction would cost $400 million and use private funds, but he had not proposed a number for security costs.

The Senate bill would designate the money for the U.S. Secret Service, including for “security adjustments and upgrades” related to the ballroom project, which Trump and other Republicans have been pushing since Cole Tomas Allen was charged with storming the April 25 media dinner at the Washington Hilton with guns and knives.

The legislation says the money would support enhancements to the ballroom project, “including above-ground and below-ground security features,” but specifies it may not be used for non-security elements.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle praised Republicans last week for including the money for the “long overdue” project, saying it would “provide the United States Secret Service with the resources they need to fully and completely harden the White House complex, in addition to the many other critical missions for the USSS.”

The White House has said in court documents that the East Wing project would be “heavily fortified,” including bomb shelters, military installations and a medical facility underneath the ballroom. Trump has said it should include bulletproof glass and be able to repel drone attacks.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued to block construction of the project, but a federal appeals court said last month that it can continue in the meantime.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks on fair elections and the Supreme Court's ruling to strike down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Construction on the new White House ballroom is seen from the Washington Monument, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Construction on the new White House ballroom is seen from the Washington Monument, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)