Amadou Mbengue ‘very fortunate’ to escape punishment after what Mark Robins said about QPR controversy
QPR defender Amadou Mbengue was lucky to avoid punishment in the 1-0 victory over Stoke on Saturday afternoon.
Former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official Keith Hackett exclusively told Football Insider that the R’s man should have been potentially sent off if a first-half tackle was deemed to have been made with excessive force.
QPR and Stoke locked horns in the second tier at Loftus Road on 20 September, with both sides aiming to continue their respective strong starts to the new campaign.
The R’s could have seen themselves reduced to 10 men when Mbengue smashed into Ben Pearson, but referee Tim Robinson did not penalise him and instead chose to give the visitors a drop ball, despite an image showing his studs made contact high on the ankle.
Amadou Mbengue avoids sanction for high tackle on Ben Pearson
The hosts had already been involved in refereeing controversy this season after Hackett told Football Insider that Imran Louza was “unfortunate” to have been sent off against QPR for Watford on August 18, leaving the officials with no choice.
Second-placed Stoke had enjoyed the bulk of the possession in the first half on Saturday at Loftus Road, but QPR created the best chances, so it was clear that the game was always set to be decided by a slim margin.
The Potters will have felt like they should have a man advantage just before the break, as Mbengue lost control of the ball in the middle of the pitch and crashed into Pearson with force.
Pearson went down holding his leg and immediately received treatment, but referee Robinson did not see fit to penalise the Hoops defender, despite replays and images showing that he had caught the Stoke man in his shin with his studs up.
The game restarted with a drop-ball to the Potters, and Pearson was soon unable to play on as he was taken off at half-time for Tatsuki Seko following a booking of his own.
QPR went on to win the game 1-0 through Harvey Vale’s late strike, leaving Stoke feeling hard done by after a controversial first-half call, as Mark Robins later insisted that Mbengue had “made a right mess” of Pearson’s leg.
Keith Hackett slams decision not to book Mbengue with red card touted
Hackett told Football Insider in April that referee Robinson was right to send now-Chelsea star Joao Pedro off against Brentford for an elbow on Nathan Collins.
This time was different, however, with the former-PGMOL chief insisting that he was wrong not to penalise Mbengue for his tackle on Pearson, with a sending off even mooted if the challenge was deemed to be made with excessive force.
He said: “The QPR player can count himself very fortunate that his foul challenge did nothing to result in a sanction. At the very minimum, this challenge is reckless [earning a] yellow card.
“However, if the challenge was made with excessive force, then the colour of the card should be red.“
This one will no doubt be reviewed and questioned as the weekend continues.