Ex-refs chief: Officials are ‘against’ Alejandro Garnacho as Chelsea incident re-analysed
Alejandro Garnacho is turning Premier League referees against his antics during Chelsea’s dramatic win over Liverpool.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that the former Man United winger’s diving could see real fouls on him go unpunished.
Anthony Taylor was praised for not awarding a penalty after Garnacho and Dominik Szoboszlai clashed inside the penalty area, and the incident was quite quickly brushed under the rug on Saturday, 4 October.
Despite the controversy, Estevao scored a 95th-minute winner, which saw Enzo Maresca charge down the touchline at Stamford Bridge, ultimately being sent off after coming out of his area.
Alejandro Garnacho accused of diving against Liverpool
The Argentina international is certainly a tricky customer for Premier League referees, but after going down far too easily inside the penalty area, Hackett believes this is now working against him.
Garnacho joined Chelsea from Man United during the summer transfer window, having fallen out with Ruben Amorim over his attitude, and now Howard Webb is being urged to get involved.
Against the Reds, the winger attempted four dribbles but was only successful with half [FotMob], and going down under light pressure from Szoboszlai was certainly not his best moment.
Howard Webb urged to get involved with Enzo Maresca
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the incident, the former referee said: “There’s no doubt that there’s exaggeration. In these situations, players think ‘I’ll work it to make sure I get a penalty kick by tumbling and rumbling’.
“Sometimes, that’s exactly what the referee sees. He sees an incident, then the theatrics, and it works against what the player wants out of it. Referees are not daft, so they prepare. And we all know that he exaggerates.
“The sadness is that on the occasions when we don’t feel the pain he does, and he has been fouled, he doesn’t get it because referees are conditioned against him.
“Back in the day, Francis Lee of Man City was known as a diver. As a result, there were occasions that he didn’t get what he deserved.
“The manager should bring in Howard Webb, involve Garnacho, and watch some clips with him. That’s not helping the club, that would be keeping the yellow cards down. He needs to know how his antics are influencing referees against him.”