Exclusive: Crystal Palace’s ‘aggressive’ Sarr sanctioned after shorts pulled down
Crystal Palace attacker Ismaila Sarr was rightly punished for his “aggressive” role in a clash which saw his shorts pulled down on the pitch.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA exclusively told Football Insider that both Justin Kluivert of Bournemouth and Sarr of Palace were correctly booked for an incident in a low-quality but contentious draw.
There was controversy throughout the match, with Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott lucky to avoid being shown a second yellow card by referee Sam Barrott.
Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards was less fortunate and was sent off for two yellows, prompting questions over a lack of consistency from the officials.
Even so, there was one incident later in the game where Barrott would dish out the same punishment for one player from either side.
Justin Kluivert and Ismaila Sarr face off
Midway through the second half, the visitors looked to launch a counter attack, only for Kluivert to be judged to have fouled by Daniel Munoz.
Before the Bournemouth man could get to his feet, Sarr stepped into his path in an apparent attempt to stop him from taking a quick free kick.
| Crystal Palace last five games | Result |
| Southampton (A) | Drew 1-1 |
| Brighton (H) | Won 2-1 |
| Man City (A) | Lost 5-2 |
| Newcastle (A) | Lost 5-0 |
| Bournemouth (H) | Drew 0-0 |
As a result, Kluivert grabbed hold of the Crystal Palace man’s shorts and pulled them down as he lifted himself up off the ground.
With things then threatening to boil over, Barrott stepped in and issued a booking to either player, which Hackett believes was the correct response.
Bournemouth and Crystal Palace sanction fair over pantsing incident
After being asked by Football Insider if a booking each for Kluivert and Sarr was the correct response to this clash, Hackett said:
“The referee is spot on. Sam Barrott [with] an early intervention has managed it very effectively. I don’t think there’s any doubts it’s two yellow cards…
“I think in fairness it’s the right decision. It’s an act of unsporting behaviour [by Kluivert], and the other one [Sarr] is adopting an aggressive attitude so both are cautionable offences.
“They’ve not left the referee much options, he can’t manage that he’s got to actually apply sanctions.”
Bournemouth will now look to keep their hopes of Europea qualification alive when they host Man United at The Vitality Stadium on Sunday (27 April).
Crystal Palace meanwhile face Arsenal on Wednesday (23 April) before turning their attention to an FA Cup semi final against Aston Villa at Wembley over the weekend.