Exclusive: Ex-FIFA ref reacts to Henderson FA Cup final incident vs Man City
Keith Hackett has given his verdict on a controversial handball decision in the FA Cup final between Crystal Palace and Manchester City, involving goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that Henderson was rightly not sent off, as he did not deny an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
Palace secured their first-ever major trophy, with Eberechi Eze’s early goal giving them a 1-0 win over the Manchester side.
Omar Marmoush had a penalty saved by Henderson, with the Eagles producing a spirited defensive display to keep the former Premier League champions out.
City have now lost two FA Cup final’s in a row, after they were beaten 2-1 by rivals Manchester United last year, and Pep Guardiola has struggled to get the best out of his side this season.
Henderson gets away with handball
City transfer target Eze put Palace one goal ahead in the 16th minute, latching onto a Daniel Munoz cross to flick past Stefan Ortega.
However, ten minutes later, Erling Haaland broke through on goal, with only Henderson to beat.
The England international sprinted out to close the City forward down, and punched the ball to the side, thwarting the Norwegian.
Replays showed that Henderson was outside the box when his fist made contact with the ball, but after a VAR check, referee Stuart Attwell restarted the game with no action towards the Palace keeper.
Henderson handball decision assessed by Hackett
After being asked by Football Insider whether he felt that Henderson should’ve been dismissed, Hackett said:
“The criteria on the on the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is that the following must be considered.
“The distance between the offence and the goal, the general direction of the play, the likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball and the location and number of defenders present.
“Despite the position of the incident, the general direction of play was away from goal, therefore it did not deny an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
“However if proven, handling outside of the penalty area should result in a direct free-kick and a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.”