Exclusive: Stuart Attwell hailed after Kaoru Mitoma dive in Brighton vs Aston Villa
Keith Hackett has praised the decision by Stuart Attwell after he waved away Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma’s calls for a penalty against Aston Villa.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the Japanese winger was lucky to escape further punishment for the incident in the first-half.
Chelsea transfer target Mitoma was looking to help his side extend their six-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, dating back to their 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Nottingham Forest in February, when they faced off against Villa.
However, a first Premier League goal from Marcus Rashford and goals from substitutes Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen gave the Villains a comfortable 3-0 win.
Frustratingly for Brighton, Mitoma had a penalty shout waved away by Attwell with the score still tied at 0-0, but any annoyances may be misguided, according to Hackett.
Kaoru Mitoma goes down after contact with Matty Cash
With 27 minutes gone, a long, raking pass from Lewis Dunk picked out the Japanese winger, who took the ball down superbly on his chest.
Driving forwards, Mitoma looked set to bury the ball past Emi Martinez, before tumbling to the ground after contact with Matty Cash.
The Polish defender had put his arm across the 27-year-old’s body and the winger was unable to stay on his feet.
Looking sheepishly towards Attwell, Cash was then greeted by the sight of the referee waving his arms, indicating no penalty.
Keith Hackett analyses Brighton penalty appeal
With the referee deciding not to award a penalty, Attwell also decided against showing Mitoma a yellow card for diving, instead choosing the middle ground of awarding neither.
When asked by Football Insider for his opinion, ex-PGMOL chief Hackett said:
“Referee Attwell was correct to waive away any penalty appeals and really should have issued a yellow card to the forward [Mitoma] for an act of simulation.
| Match stats | Brighton | Aston Villa |
| Possession | 55% | 45% |
| Shots (on target) | 11 (4) | 8 (5) |
| Expected goals | 1.01 | 1.20 |
| Big chances (missed) | 0 (0) | 2 (0) |
| Corners | 4 | 0 |
“[This incident was] manufacturing contact in an attempt to deceive the referee.”
Brighton seemed to lose all their momentum after the incident, looking flat and lifeless in the second half.
The Seagulls will face off against rivals Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in their next match on Saturday, 5 April.