Ex-Fifa official: Dean Henderson may be set for FA charge as image emerges at Nottingham Forest
Dean Henderson could be charged by the FA for the way he celebrated after Nottingham Forest beat Liverpool 1-0 on Saturday (22 October), according to Keith Hackett.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee delivered his verdict after it appeared Henderson stuck his middle finger up at the Liverpool fans in the away end.
The 25-year-old made crucial saves at the City Ground as Forest secured their second league win of the season and celebrated by jumping into the crowd.
Images then emerged on social media of the goalkeeper appearing to swear at the Liverpool fans.
“I’d switched over at the end of the game but then I saw on social media the finger that he had put up,” Hackett said after analysing the images with Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“The only thing I worry about that is, if you look at it from a certain angle it looks like one finger but it could be two.
“Nonetheless it is unacceptable to do that. I would expect the FA to charge him because I don’t think he can get away with that.
“Ok, there’s a touch of arrogance because they’ve won the match but he needs to be brought into line and recognise that he can’t do that.
“If there’s another camera that shows he stuck his middle finger up then I expect a charge. If not, without evidence, the FA might just send a warning letter to tell him to behave.
“The crowd wind him up and it’s part of football as long as it doesn’t go over the top. He runs the risk of having objects thrown at him if he incites the crowd.
“Goalkeepers have always been a little bit crazy haven’t they? I wouldn’t want to sanitise the game but there is a line.
“Going into the crowd and celebrating could create a crowd surge so he needs to think about that.
“I don’t want to curtail his celebrations but he could find himself in all sorts of problems by leaving the pitch to celebrate.”
In other news, Nottingham Forest could now miss out on £8million of sponsor cash and it is “brutal”.