Ex-Fifa official: Scott McKenna deserves extended ban as controversial Nottingham Forest footage emerges
Scott McKenna should have been sent off as Nottingham Forest beat West Ham 1-0 on Sunday (14 August), according to Keith Hackett.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee insisted McKenna denied a clear goalscoring opportunity when he handballed a West Ham shot.
As shown on the BBC’s Match of the Day 2 programme, the 25-year-old was only booked after blocking a Thomas Soucek shot with his arm.
Referee Robert Jones did not initially spot the illegal use of the arm but was told to review the footage by VAR official Michael Salisbury and he then reversed his decision and showed McKenna a yellow card.
A straight red would have seen him banned for Forest’s next three games, starting with the trip to Everton next Saturday (20 August).
Declan Rice took the spot kick but it was saved by Dean Henderson and Forest held on to secure their first points of the Premier League season.
“There’s a split opinion on this in referee terms,” Hackett said after analysing the footage with Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“For me, that action warranted a red card, I’m clear on that. The player had a shot on goal and the defender stopped it.
“If you argue and say the goalkeeper’s got it covered, just look at the Man United game and [David] De Gea had the ball covered and it went under him. You can’t make that sort of assumption.
“For me, the player is lucky not to receive a red. The PGMOL came out and said they got it right.
“The goalkeeper’s position is not enough, you are making an assumption that he’s going to save it.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has revealed Nottingham Forest are “looking at a £10million deal” after “speaking to a director”.