‘Absolutely a fan’ – Ex-FIFA ref delight at Beth Mead’s missed England penalty incident
Beth Mead’s missed penalty as England Women beat Spain in the Women’s Euro final delighted Keith Hackett.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the changed rule was brilliant to see after Julian Alvarez‘s miss-kick saw Atletico Madrid knocked out of the Champions League last season.
After 90 minutes of normal time and another 30 minutes extra, the Lionesses and Spain could not be separated at the St Jakob-Park Stadium in Switzerland on Sunday, 27 July.
Arsenal‘s Mariona Caldentey had opened the scoring after 25 minutes, firing past eventual hero Hannah Hampton, before Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo combined to score the equaliser in the second half.
England Women win back-to-back Euros
Despite the Lionesses’ early setback, Alex Greenwood, Niamh Charles, and Kelly all fired home their spotkicks, while Hampton made several saves to deliver heartache to the Spanish.
Having admitted to playing the entire tournament with a fractured tibia, Lucy Bronze avoided a sending-off and further controversy in the final, with the trophy eventually coming back to England.
In the knockout stages, Wiegman’s side led for just a single minute, but were still victorious, showing just how incredibly determined the team is when it comes to winning titles on the international stage.
Of course, Mead’s penalty was quickly forgotten due to the post-match scenes of celebration and emotion, but Hackett was extremely happy to see the unusual law put into practice.
Keith Hackett a massive fan of new rule change
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “Yes, I’m absolutely a fan [of penalty retakes]. This kind of incident can only be viewed on a replay, not by a referee.
“You can guess as a referee, but with VAR, there’s great clarity. Therefore, there was a slip, and it’s the right call to have the penalty retaken.
“The law change made for this season is the right one, where a double-kick sees a penalty disallowed, and it’s retaken. That was the right decision last night. Despite the outcome, the referee has to apply the laws as they are written.”