Ex-PGMOL chief reacts to controversial James McClean incident in Wrexham defeat vs Hull City
Hull City rightly saw their appeals for a penalty against James McClean waved away during their 2-0 home win over Wrexham on Wednesday.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that the Tigers were wrong to try and claim a penalty for handball.
Wrexham reiterated their Premier League dream after it was confirmed that Apollo Sports Capital had purchased a minority stake in the club on Monday, but that still feels a long way from reality after they were beaten in East Yorkshire in midweek.
Goals from Kyle Joseph and Oli McBurnie saw the hosts ease to victory at the MKM Stadium, as they climbed into the Championship’s play-off places.
Keith Hackett sides with referee Andrew Kitchen in Hull vs Wrexham controversy
McClean is never too far from controversy at Wrexham, and he came under the spotlight after an unfortunate moment during his team’s defeat to Hull.
The Irishman sliced the ball against his own elbow while trying to clear a Ryan Giles cross, which prompted strong appeals from both the Hull players and the supporters behind the goal.
However, referee Andrew Kitchen was unmoved by the appeals and instead awarded a corner for the home side, after McClean’s intervention turned the ball out behind his own goal.
The incident provided a major talking point during the game, but Hackett has insisted that the man in the middle reached the correct decision.
“What we’re now witnessing in the game is that every time the ball strikes the hand, people want a penalty or a free-kick,” he told Football Insider.
“The reality here is that there’s no way that is any form of deliberate action by McClean, whose arm it definitely strikes. But, it’s not handball, and therefore it is the correct decision from the referee.”
Andrew Kitchen is destined to referee in the Premier League
Hackett recently criticised Kitchen for a series of questionable decisions that came during the draw between Manchester United and West Ham that he took charge of at the start of December.
The referee was taking charge of just his third Premier League game at the time, having risen through the ranks as part of the PGMOL’s pathway to officiate top-flight games.
Wrexham will have become very familiar with Kitchen in recent years, as he has risen through the divisions since he first became an EFL referee back in 2021-22, and that has coincided with the Red Dragons’ own rise.
He took charge of the League One Play-Off Final earlier in 2025 and is seemingly now destined to become a regular Premier League referee after making the step up recently.
He appears to have got his latest controversial decision right, but that will do little to prevent the scrutiny that he will undoubtedly face in the future, as is the case with all referees.