Ex-Fifa, Uefa and Premier League referee Keith Hackett has questioned the consistency of Premier League referees in awarding penalties.
This came after Chelsea were given a controversial penalty in the 1-1 draw against United after Scott McTominay was deemed to have brought down Armando Broja inside the box.
Jorginho dispatched the ball from the ensuing spot-kick to give the Blues’ the lead before a late Casemiro leveller ensured the Red Devils got a share of the points.
Bruno Fernandes after the game questioned why his side were penalized after various other teams in the league went unpunished for the same thing.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the issue, Hackett agreed with Stuart Attwell’s verdict that McTominay had illegally impeded Broja.
However, Hackett admitted that the inconsistency issue was hurting United alongside other teams and he was also puzzled by the matter.
He said, “I think he’s [Fernandes] right in terms of the inconsistency of referees on holding offences. What we have seen this week, and I just wonder if someone has whispered in the ear of the referees, is more than one penalty kick given for a holding offence.”
“Nobody has questioned the consistency on holding offences in the penalty [area] more than me. He’s quite right, there has been an underlying inconsistency on this.”
“Watch this space because I think someone has whispered in the ear of referees to say ‘Look, we want to toughen up’. That might be the new select group one manager Jon Moss.”
The Chelsea game represented just the latest game that the Red Devils’ were almost done over by the referee.
Against Newcastle, Craig Pawson was extremely controversial in his decision-making, and appeared to be relegated to officiating in the second-tier of English football as a result.
Looks like Pawson got his punishment 😂 pic.twitter.com/bLL597i8y5
— UtdPlug (@UtdPlug) October 18, 2022
The same happened against Everton when what looked like a perfectly-fine Marcus Rashford goal was chalked off in unclear circumstances.
Hopefully, the situation changes and United finally start to get fair treatment.
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