Keith Hackett accuses referee of guesswork for West Brom penalty v Aston Villa
We’re delighted to welcome former Premier League referee Keith Hackett as our exclusive West Brom columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Keith Hackett was shocked to see West Brom awarded a penalty against Aston Villa after Ezri Konsa’s challenge on Ainsley Maitland-Niles on Sunday evening.
With Villa a goal to the good after their own penalty scored by Anwar El-Ghazi, events were evened up when referee Stuart Attwell handed Sam Allardyce’s side a spot-kick of their own midway through the first half after a hand on Maitland-Niles by Konsa.
Attwell’s decision was checked by VAR who agreed with the initial decision, and Matheus Pereira duly dispatched from 12 yards out to level the game 1-1, before both sides grabbed a goal apiece in the second half to play out a 2-2 draw.
“I don’t see that as a penalty kick,” Hackett told West Brom News in an exclusive interview.
“I’m not so sure the referee’s got the best view, it’s not a penalty.
“You don’t give soft penalties, you have to go the other route as a referee and that is that you need them to be nailed on because you’re effectively awarding them a goal.
“So for me, that’s not a penalty kick. I think he’s got it wrong.
“Ultimately, if you’re vying to be a top-class referee and you’re supposed to be an elite referee, these are the big decisions you have to get right.
“One thing I say to the referees I coach is ‘Do not guess on the big decisions’. I suspect he’s gone down and he’s guessed a bit here.
“That’s VAR trying to sell that decision because VAR should’ve come in and reviewed it to have another look.
“I’d have liked Stuart Attwell to have had another look at that.”
Soft as they come
Let’s be honest, we’d have been fuming if that was given against us.
Only Maitland-Niles knows whether the contact was enough to send him tumbling, and often it doesn’t take much to get someone off balance, particularly someone as powerful as Konsa.
The contact was pretty minimal but we’re due a few good decisions.
Semi Ajayi’s concession of a penalty earlier in the half wasn’t exactly the most clear-cut you’ll see as Ross Barkley surely could have kept his balance, though it was rather rash.
We’ll take what we can get, though ultimately it all looks rather futile in the grand scheme of things as a point pushes us closer to the relegation trapdoor.
In other West Brom news, ‘First-class’ – Martin Keown awestruck by ‘Glorious’ West Brom ace in 2-2 draw v Aston Villa.
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