Exclusive: PGMOL action demand as Chelsea’s Reece James avoids penalty at Brentford
Chelsea right-back Reece James should have conceded a crucial penalty during his side’s goalless draw with Brentford, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that PGMOL must take action to come down hard on incidents of holding inside penalty areas from set-pieces.
Enzo Maresca’s side played out an uneventful 0-0 at Brentford on Sunday (6 April), with Christopher Nkunku enduring a difficult afternoon while leading the line for Chelsea.
However, they were perhaps fortunate not to lose that game following a clash between James and Nathan Collins during the first half of that match.
Reece James takes a risk in his own penalty area
James returned to action for Chelsea after injury earlier this year, and has again become a regular feature for the Blues.
Shortly before half time in this match though, he was seemingly fortunate not to cost his team, after his challenge on Bryan Mbeumo earned Brentford a corner.
From the resulting set-piece, James could be seen wrestling opposition centre-back Collins to the ground at the the near post, as the Bees were unable to find the back of the net.
| Chelsea last five games | Result |
| Leicester (H) | Won 1-0 |
| Copenhagen (H) | Won 1-0 |
| Arsenal (A) | Lost 1-0 |
| Tottenham (H) | Won 1-0 |
| Brentford (A) | Drew 0-0 |
The Chelsea man was not punished for that his actions either by referee Michael Oliver or VAR, denying Brentford a chance to take the lead from the spot.
Hackett though, believes James was lucky not to concede a spot kick, and has called on PGMOL and officials to take stronger action on such offences in the future, after talks with managers.
That he feels will be particularly important given goalkeepers will be punished with the concession of a corner if they are deemed to have held on to ball for too long.
Keith Hackett fumes as Brentford penalty not given vs Chelsea
After being asked by Football Insider if the England international was lucky not to give away a penalty, the former referee said:
“Very clearly for me, I think the PGMOL in the close season – this should have been a penalty kick, quite clear.
“But I think what’s got to happen is the PGMOL has got to discuss with managers and it’s got to come to a conclusion where next season, it’s going to stop going in and warning players about holding, blocking and grappling in the penalty area, and start to say ‘look, we’re going to start to penalise offences, either way: free kick to defence, or a penalty kick’.
“But I think that they need to set a line in the sand and say ‘this is football not rugby’, and this is a particular area where I think there is a lot of time wasted, and I think it’s something that they’ve got to really get to grips with and operate in a consistent manner. Inform everybody .
“Of course the intensity on corner kicks will increase because the law change next year is that once the goalkeeper’s in possession of the ball, even if he’s lying on it, the clock is ticking: eight seconds.
“The referee will then count down from five seconds, and if the goalkeeper then is penalised, it goes to a corner kick, so what’s the point in penalising the goalkeeper for holding onto the ball for eight seconds, and then losing another 20, warning everybody about, holding and pulling in the penalty area. So it needs sorting!”
Following that stalemate, Chelsea remain fourth in the Premier League table, with only five points to separate them from Fulham in eighth with seven league games of the season still to be played.
Brentford meanwhile sit 12th, a further six points behind the Cottagers, meaning they face a big task if they are to make it into Europe next season.