Ex-Fifa official: Craig Pawson needs to ‘develop a pair’ as controversial Liverpool footage analysed
Craig Pawson needs to “develop a pair” and stop being a “lazy” referee after his impressive performance as Liverpool beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties to win the FA Cup on Saturday (14 May).
That is the view of ex-Fifa and Premier League referee Keith Hackett, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Pawson’s lowkey display at Wembley.
The game passed major controversy and the 43-year-old only dished out one yellow card for Reece James after his foul on Thiago in the 77th minute.
And Hackett has called on the Sheffield-based official to take “confidence” from his performance into the Premier League.
He told Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley after analysing the game: “I thought he measured his inteference in a tidy manner.
“He can go away with his colleagues happy that he delivered a good performance.
“I thought it was a fairly boring encounter, to be honest. It wasn’t challenging, there wasn’t a bad foul or confrontation.
“I appreciated his movement which was better that what I normally see in his Premier League games. His management of the shootout was spot on.
“It’s great getting the big appointments but it’s how you deliver them and in a few years time he can reflect with pride. There is no question he’ll be happy.
“He’s been on the list a number of years, he’s a Fifa referee and I think this will give him a boost in confidence.
“We have seen him hesitate this season when in the right position. At times in the Premier League he’s developed an overreliance on VAR.
“He’s got to develop a pair and say ‘I’m the man in charge, I’ll make the decisions and VAR will assist when required’.
“The word lazy comes to mind in the Premier League but the effort was there on Saturday.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has revealed Liverpool are set to miss out on a £4million-a-year boost amid ‘uproar’ from their rivals.