Exclusive: Action needed as Gvardiol survives penalty scare in Man City win v Wolves
Keith Hackett has given his reaction to appeals for a penalty from Wolves late on in their defeat to Man City.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider it would have been “soft” to award a spot kick for Josko Gvardiol‘s challenge on Marshall Munetsi inside the penalty area.
Despite a well below par campaign by their standards, there are still several ways in which Pep Guardiola‘s side can salvage something from this season.
Qualifying for the Champions League is one of those, and Man City took another step towards doing that over the weekend.
Man City edge towards Champions League qualification
On Friday (2 May), the outgoing Premier League champions welcomed an in-form Wolves side to the Etihad Stadium.
Kevin De Bruyne would score the only goal of the game to secure a 1-0 win for Man City, which ensures they remain in a strong position to claim a spot in Europe’s top competition for next season.
However, the hosts did have to survive some scares in that match, such as when Matheus Cunha hit the post for Wolves.
| Position | Played | Points |
| 2. Arsenal | 35 | 67 |
| 3. Manchester City | 35 | 64 |
| 4. Newcastle United | 35 | 63 |
| 5. Chelsea | 35 | 63 |
| 6. Nottingham Forest | 34 | 60 |
| 7. Aston Villa | 35 | 60 |
Another nervous moment came late on when Munetsi went to ground inside the hosts’ penalty area, after an apparent push in the back by Gvardiol as he attempted to reach the ball.
Referee Peter Bankes elected not to award a spot kick, and the decision not to give Wolves the chance to level from the spot then confirmed by VAR.
Although Hackett believes the call not to penalise Man City was the correct one, he has suggested he would like to see a firmer stance being taken over such incidents.
‘Marshall Munetsi looked for penalty’ – Keith Hackett
After being asked by Football Insider what he made of the decision not to give a spot kick, the former referee said:
“I think he [Munetsi] has gone down too easy. I think the reality here is that what is not consistent in refereeing in the English Premier League is the illegal use of the hands and arms.
“Because that player [Gvardiol] has got his arms out and Munetsi has decided ‘I’ll gamble and go to ground.’
“So for me it’s not a penalty kick but I’d like to see in some instances firmer action in games across the board about the pushing offence that are taking place where they’re actually saying ‘there isn’t sufficient force in that push’.
“A push is a push for me. So I can understand why it’s not been given currently under the regime of Howard Webb. He doesn’t want these to given, and I think it would have been a soft penalty kick. Munetsi’s looking for it and doesn’t help his case.”