Keith Hackett expressed his strong displeasure following a contentious penalty incident during West Brom’s 3-1 loss to Birmingham City.
The former FIFA referee was incensed by the referee’s decision to award a penalty against West Brom, which allowed Birmingham back into the game.
West Brom initially took the lead with a goal by John Swift, but the match’s momentum shifted dramatically when the referee ruled a penalty after Koji Miyoshi slipped without any significant contact. Birmingham successfully converted the penalty and went on to win comfortably.
Hackett, upon viewing video footage of the incident on October 7th, took to his personal Twitter account to express his disbelief, stating, “No sense, that’s not a foul,” in response to a fan’s post sharing the video.
This decision by the referee is arguably one of the worst officiating errors ever witnessed, and it had a profound impact on the outcome of the game, allowing Birmingham to secure a victory.
While West Brom may not have played exceptionally well throughout the 90 minutes, they had control of the match when they held the lead. However, such an inexplicable decision turned the game on its head, a situation deemed ridiculous by Hackett.
Comparisons were made to the recent uproar over a VAR mistake in the Tottenham versus Liverpool match, highlighting the gravity of this error. Nevertheless, this incident may not receive as much attention because West Brom is not as high-profile a team.
Decisions of this nature have the potential to jeopardize a manager’s job or hinder a team’s chances of promotion in the long run, and this level of officiating is simply unacceptable.
The lack of a clear penalty was evident to all observers, including Birmingham fans, and the confirmation of an experienced referee like Hackett only underscores the legitimacy of the outrage surrounding this incident.
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