Hackett Exclusive: Darren England not ‘good enough’ after Everton vs Arsenal chaos
Referee Darren England has come under fire from Keith Hackett following his performance in the 1-1 draw between Everton and Arsenal at Goodison Park.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that there is a need to ask if England is “frankly good enough” to take charge of games in the top-flight.
Everton and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday (5 April) that further reduces the Gunners’ hopes of catching Liverpool in the title race.
By contrast, David Moyes‘ side have now moved another point closer to securing their Premier League status for next season.
Throughout that game though, there were a number of moments of controversy that put scrutiny on England and his officiating team.
Everton and Arsenal bemused by Darren England timekeeping
With just 18 minutes on the clock, there was confusion after Everton full-back Jake O’Brien was shown a yellow card, seemingly only after a VAR check.
Meanwhile, Hackett also believes that Arsenal ace Myles Lewis-Skelly was wrongly penalised for the penalty from which the Toffees equalised.
Another bizarre moment came when England seemingly blew his whistle for full time ten seconds before the indicated minimum four minutes of stoppage time had passed.
| Premier League position | Played | Points |
| 1. Liverpool | 30 | 73 |
| 2. Arsenal | 31 | 62 |
That led to a frustrated response from the Everton players, after which the referee changed his mind and instead awarded a free kick to the hosts for a flick of the foot from Leandro Trossard at James Tarkowski.
Replays then showed no contact had even been made between the Arsenal attacker and the Toffees centre-back, ensuring that change of heart from the official then angered the visitors as well.
While the resulting free kick was comfortably gathered by David Raya before the game did officially end a late winner would have been hugely controversial.
Now, Hackett believes that may further indicate the need for a review into England’s position as a Premier League referee.
Keith Hackett questions referee after Goodison Park showing
After being asked by Football Insider what he made of England’s decision to seemingly change his mind after appearing to blow for full time, Hackett said:
“We really need to be asking if Darren England is frankly good enough to officiate at the elite level.
“I do think that when he blows his whistle his left arm is stretched out signalling a free kick and not full time.”
Arsenal next face Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final on Tuesday (8 April), while Everton are due to take on Nottingham Forest in their next match the following Saturday (12 April).