Keith Hackett can’t believe that Nottingham Forest weren’t awarded a penalty kick on Sunday during the defeat to Manchester United. At 0-0, the ball appeared to be handled by Harry Maguire in the penalty box but after a VAR check, the play was allowed to continue.
Forest would lose the game 2-0 at the City Ground. Ultimately, they probably didn’t play well enough to take anything from the game but had they got and scored a penalty to go into the lead, things might have been different.
The Reds once again got the rough end of the deal. It does seem as though teams who languish close to the bottom of the table get fewer decisions in their favour than those closer to the top.
Hackett was appointed as the general manager of the PGMOL in 2004. He ended his career as a referee on the FIFA list and was one of the top referees in the country when he was active.
He’s gobsmacked that a penalty kick wasn’t awarded for Forest at the weekend. Maguire’s arm was in an unnatural position above his head and his intervention stopped Scott McKenna from having a chance at a goal.
Hackett can’t believe Forest weren’t awarded a penalty
The man who enjoyed a distinctive refereeing career isn’t backwards in coming forward regarding the state of refereeing right now. He’s often outspoken and can be found venting on many platforms these days.
This is just another one in a long list of cock-ups by VAR. For Simon Hooper to spot this one on the field of play was tricky but to not pick it up on VAR is frankly ridiculous.
Maguire was also on a yellow card. There’s every chance that had a penalty been awarded, he’d have been sent off for a second bookable offence and that could have changed the complexion of the game.
Forest can feel extremely hard done by. Something has to change within the PGMOL and hopefully, Howard Webb’s arrival as the chief can help improve the standards in the Premier League.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
