‘Abject nonsense’ – Ex-refs chief blasts PGMOL after what was spotted in West Ham vs Aston Villa
PGMOL officials are failing to take appropriate action after fans were left frustrated during West Ham’s defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that Anthony Taylor missed key incidents at the London Stadium on 14 December.
Mateus Fernandes fired past Marco Bizot in the opening minute, and with a Konstantinos Mavropanos own goal and Jarrod Bowen strike, it was evident that the Villans were going to have to battle for three points.
Thankfully for Unai Emery, Villa star Morgan Rogers was on hand to score a second-half brace, sealing their 10th win of the Premier League season despite a rocky start to the game in East London.
Keith Hackett furious as PGMOL fail to deal with grappling inside the penalty area
The game was not without its controversial moments, with Boubacar Kamara, Matty Cash, and El Hadji Malick Diouf all going into the referee’s notebook.
Both sides have gained advantages from set-pieces over recent seasons, having some very tall figures in their squads, and there were huge battles all over the park because of this.
Hackett is happy to openly criticise the PGMOL when referees or VAR officials get decisions wrong, and the former head of the organisation has done so again after some frustrating scenes at the London Stadium.
Football Insider presenter, Georgia Banks, was present at the London Stadium, furious with some of the decisions inside the penalty area, especially when it came to players holding each other at set-pieces.
Howard Webb urged to address the rules after West Ham vs Aston Villa scenes
Hackett, exclusively speaking to Football Insider on The Final Whistle, said: “What we’ve got is too much holding, pulling, wrestling, grappling, whatever you want to say.
“When the ball is coming into the ball, it’s just an abject nonsense. The PGMOL, at the beginning of the season, said they’d deal with this and take a firmer line.
“It’s never happened. What we need is a balance, but at the moment, the referees need to tighten up. We want to see football played with the feet, not the arms.”
Max Kilman has been dropped to the bench in recent games, but with one of the better success rates in aerial battles, the Hammers appeared to miss him at set-pieces.