Arsenal news: Ex-Premier League referee demands extended ban as Granit Xhaka controversy missed by BBC cameras
Morgan Gibbs-White should have been shown a red card in Nottingham Forest’s 5-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday (30 October), according to Keith Hackett.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee insisted Gibbs-White’s challenge on Granit Xhaka towards the end of the first half should have resulted in a sending-off.
In an incident missed by the BBC’s Match of the Day 2 programme, the 22-year-old launched into a challenge on Xhaka and caught his ankle.
Referee Simon Hooper showed him a yellow card but a red card would have seen him banned for Nottingham Forest’s next three games.
That would have meant Gibbs-White would have been unavailable for Forest until after the World Cup.
“I think, as a group, the PGMOL have got to look at these challenges,” Hackett said after analysing the footage with Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley.
“Here we’ve got a guy who has come in with excessive force and, for me, has endangered the safety of Xhaka. Therefore, I believe this should have been a red card.
“The argument put forward by some is that he was low and the ball was there [to be won].
“He missed the ball and it doesn’t matter if the ball was there or not, he’s got a duty of care towards his opponent.
“For me, this type of challenge they need to get to grips with because I think players have cottoned on that if it is around the knee height, they are going to get a red. What they’ve done is, they’ve dropped down on it.”
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