Exclusive: Rob Jones hailed as rare rule imposed on Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers
Keith Hackett has hailed referee Rob Jones for his action against Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers during his side’s clash with Fulham.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the official was right to make the attacker leave the pitch after his team had opened the scoring in that match.
Aston Villa beat Fulham 1-0 at Villa Park on Saturday (3 May) to keep their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League this season alive.
Youri Tielemans headed in the only goal of the game from a John McGinn corner with 12 minutes on the clock.
In the aftermath of that however, Rogers found himself in an unusual incident that briefly saw him removed from the field of play.
Morgan Rogers caught out with outfit change
While celebrating that goal with his teammates, the attacker had taken off his undershirt, intending to continue the rest of the game without it.
After then lining up for the restart from the Fulham kick-off, Jones insisted the Aston Villa man step off the pitch for the resumption, then he could subsequently signal him back on, as per the laws of the game.
| Morgan Rogers vs Fulham | Total (SofaScore) |
| Shots on Target | 0 |
| Shots off Target | 0 |
| Successful Dribbles | 5/7 |
| Accurate Passes | 22/28 |
| Duels Won | 7/10 |
That caused some confusion at Villa Park, with Rogers himself frustrated by the inconvenience of the incident.
Hackett though, has paid tribute to Jones for applying one of the less regularly seen rules in the correct manner.
‘Aston Villa man rightly sent to the sidelines’ – Keith Hackett
After being asked by Football Insider about that move to make the Aston Villa star leave the pitch, the former referee said:
“The referee has applied the laws. If you are not dressed in accordant to the laws of the game – so let’s say you’ve lost a boot – technically you have to leave the field of play and wear full kit.
“So I think here the referee was actually making a message, and sending the right message. The player has removed his shirt and under garment, as a consequence of that, that is a yellow card offence.
“Then the referee can say ‘you’re not wearing the right equipment, off you go until they come on, you’re delaying the restart and I’ll let you come’.
“I think it’s rarely used that aspect of the law so it’s good on him that that’s what he’s done. I find that of all the referees on the list Rob actually applies the laws, his knowledge is pretty good and I think it’s good on him that he’s done that.”
Fulham full-back Ryan Sessegnon would later see an equaliser ruled out for handball, allowing Aston Villa to pick up an important 1-0 win in their pursuit of a return to the Champions League.