Keith Hackett believes West Brom man Hugill should have been booked against Preston
We’re delighted to welcome former Premier League & FIFA-listed referee Keith Hackett as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at West Brom.
Ex-Premier League referee Keith Hackett believes that Jordan Hugill was right not to have been sent off for West Brom on Saturday.
The former Preston North End striker appeared to catch Patrick Bauer in the face with a stray arm that left the centre-back needing some treatment.
The referee decided that it wasn’t worthy of a red card or a yellow card, though Hackett thinks the former should have been awarded [Preston North End].
Speaking to West Brom News, he said: “It’s more arm than elbow.
“I think I would support the referee.
“I think the yellow’s probably the right decision.
“When a player illegally uses his hand and arm, you will find that if he is going to use his arm illegally, he’ll clench his fist and bring it back.
“So, for me, yellow.”
Hugill was lucky to escape a booking.
The referee in this game decided that Hugill’s stray arm wasn’t even worthy of a booking, never mind a red card.
However, we believe it would have been an incredibly harsh red as the striker’s eyes are fixed on the ball, and he is using his arms for elevation.
There is not a single moment when Hugill’s eyes stray to look at the Preston player, and he was just unfortunate that he got caught on the nose.
Therefore, we totally agree with Hackett’s conclusion on this incident involving Hugill, and we are a bit surprised that the referee didn’t decide the challenge was worthy of a yellow.
However, there is no way that Hugill should have been sent off for that accidental collision and the people calling for a sending off need to give their head a wobble.
In other West Brom news, the Baggies are set for a major cash boost before 2022.