Exclusive: PGMOL action to be taken after Aston Villa-Wolves controversy
Wolves should not have seen their second goal in their 2-0 win over Aston Villa allowed to stand, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that a free-kick should have been given for a foul on Morgan Rogers in the build-up to Matheus Cunha’s strike.
Vitor Pereira’s side moved two points clear of the relegation zone with victory in the derby at Molineux on Saturday (1 February), with Cunha’s stoppage time goal sealing the win.
Hackett though feels Aston Villa have a right to be annoyed that the goal was not disallowed over a challenge at the start of the move.
Aston Villa rightly frustrated over decisive Wolves goal
Wolves had taken an early lead in this match thanks to Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s clinical strike 12 minutes into the game.
With Unai Emery’s side pushing for an equaliser, the hosts were able to secure the win through Cunha on the counter-attack deep into stoppage time.
That move though had begun when the ball was played into the Brazilian after Rogers had gone down under a challenge from Santiago Bueno inside his own half.
The Aston Villa attacker felt he should have been given a free-kick at the point rather than the goal being allowed to stand, with VAR not intervening either, and Hackett agrees with him, suggesting PGMOL must issue clarification over how far back in a passage of play VAR can go to disallow a goal.
Speaking to Football Insider about that incident and the decision of VAR not to get involved, the former referee said:
“It was a foul. I watched this and thought that immediately. I think the difficulty is the referee’s not given it, and I think that how far you go back in checking whether that foul has impacted on the goal.
“I suspect that someone’s made a decision that says it’s too far to go back, on the day the referee should have given the free-kick.
“One of the things you talk about in refereeing, particularly when you’re coaching refereeing is you use the phrase ‘holding your gaze’.
“What that means is when a ball is being cleared you hold your peripheral vision, you maintain that view of where the ball has come from in case there is this type of foul.
“I think the referee was concentrating more on the breakaway and making certain he’s in contact with play and missed that one.
“So I think it’s part of football, I think it would have been difficult for VAR and the referee to go back to that foul and disallow because I think the distance covered puts that at risk.
“I was asked the question how far can you go back? I think the answer is that it has to have a degree of credibility, I think the foul’s taken place, I think we can see it’s a foul, I think the referee doesn’t, play continues, the goal’s going to stand, it’s not going to be ruled out because of I think the distance involved.
“I think there’s some times when as the head of PGMOL you have to then give guidance as to how far you can go back that’s credible. So I think they’re unfortunate.”
Following that defeat Aston Villa are eight in the Premier League table, four points adrift of the top four spots.
Wolves meanwhile were given another major boost after this game with the news that Cunha has signed a new long-term contract with the club.
In other news, Marcus Rashford has reacted after completing his move from Man United to Aston Villa.
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