Ex-PGMOL chief: Arsenal vs Man City ref should be upgraded to 'elite panel' after his call

Referee Sam Barrott was right not to award Arsenal a penalty during their 3-0 victory against Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday.

That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that officials did well to award City a free-kick after Gabriel went down looking for a spot-kick.

Arsenal were by far the better side at Wembley on Sunday and were fully deserving of the victory.

However, it could have been even better for the Gunners when Gabriel went down in the box, and he was grappling with Abdukodir Khusanov, with both the player and Mikel Arteta calling for the penalty.

Yet, Barrott decided against this decision, and instead awarded Man City a free-kick, believing that Gabriel had in fact committed a foul.

Hackett was quick to agree with this decision, and hoped that this would set a precedent going into the 2026-27 Premier League campaign.

Keith Hackett: Sam Barrott right not to award Arsenal penalty vs Man City

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Hackett explained why he believed that Arsenal should not have got a penalty early on.

He said: “We talk forever about grappling in the area. It's really the scene setter. When you have the European Championships, they tell you how to referee. They expect you to apply the law strictly, or sometimes they'll say the opposite and say, 'look, keep your cards in your pocket and let it flow a bit'. 

“Barrott got the temperature right; I think his performance is in top form. He's had the final of the UEFA Youth Cup, that's given him a boost of confidence. 

“For me, he should hopefully move on to the elite panel of UEFA very quickly. So I just want consistency from the group. And the easy one in these situations is just to give it a free kick rather than doing nothing, and then we might just get it stopping.

 “Let's see how it is five to six weeks into the season. I'm cynical when things like this that are punished today will not be penalised in similar situations in the Premier League.”

Arsenal have now set the standard after Community Shield victory

Going into the new campaign, Arsenal are heavy title favourites.

Many of their competitors are currently undergoing rebuilds, with the other ‘big six’ clubs all appointing a new manager in 2026.

Nevertheless, retaining a Premier League title is an extremely hard feat to pull off, and this was shown in Liverpool’s awful campaign last season.

However, after Arsenal blew away Man City on Sunday, they have now set the standard and shown the world how good they still are.

Now, Arteta will be hoping these types of performances will become a common theme throughout the 2026-27 campaign.