Ex-refs chief: Charlton Athletic ‘right to feel aggrieved’ as Leicester City controversy re-analysed
Charlton Athletic were left flabbergasted when their opening goal was ruled out in Saturday’s win over Leicester City.
Leicester were beaten 2-0 by Charlton in what will go down as a hugely damaging defeat for the Foxes.
After just 15 minutes, Caleb Okoli was sent off for hauling down Miles Leaburn as the last man, and the Addicks capitalised on the man advantage.
Andy King is in charge of Leicester for the time being, but the Premier League winner could only stand and watch as Sonny Carey and Lyndon Dykes scored to down the home side.
Jordan Ayew‘s second-half penalty miss rather summed up a dismal display, with King left furious with his Leicester players.
Keith Hackett questions why Charlton opener was ruled out
Charlton looked to have found the breakthrough just five minutes after Okoli was dismissed, when Harry Clarke nodded in from a corner.
The cross had flown over the head of Jakub Stolarczyk, who was under some mild pressure from Leaburn.
And it almost looked to be heading straight in before Clarke’s touch looked to have secured his first goal for the club, and the lead.
| Leicester City | Match stats | Charlton Athletic |
| 47% | Possession | 53% |
| 21 | Shots | 9 |
| 1 | Shots on target | 5 |
| 1.92 | Expected goals (xG) | 1.40 |
| 6 | Corners | 2 |
Instantly, however, referee Andrew Kitchen blew his whistle, and the linesman raised his flag.
There was some confusion over what had been given, but it appeared to be a free-kick for a foul on the goalkeeper.
Replays showed, however, that Leaburn had barely touched Stolarczyk, with most of the very limited contact on the Pole coming from Leicester midfielder Louis Page.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider after seeing the footage, ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett said: “The Leicester City goalkeeper made a poor attempt to clear the ball and his mistake led to a good goal scored by Charlton.
“The Referee ruled this out for an alleged foul on the goalkeeper. Charlton have a right to be aggrieved that this was ruled out. I wonder if the assistant raised his flag for offside?”
Nathan Jones equally confused after Leicester decision
While perhaps a critical blow for Leicester, Saturday’s win was a huge one for Charlton and Nathan Jones.
The Addicks had been drifting towards the relegation zone, and Jones had been among the favourites for the sack.
The manager was delighted in his post-match presser, but admitted his bemusement at the decision to disallow the first goal.
“We scored three good goals, because there is nothing wrong with the goal from the corner, I am baffled with that,” he said.