Hackett Exclusive: Hooper ‘sort your act out’ over Savinho in Man City v Everton
Keith Hackett has slammed referee Simon Hooper over Man City winger Savinho’s appeals for a penalty during his side’s win at Everton.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the Brazilian should have been given a spot kick after being grabbed by Jack Harrison inside the area.
Man City picked up a 2-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday (19 April) to keep themselves firmly in the race for Champions League football this season.
Pep Guardiola‘s side needed two late goals from Nico O’Reilly and Mateo Kovacic to seal that win, but they could have had the chance to go in front much earlier on had Savinho got his way.
Savinho denied spot kick after Jack Harrison pull
With 13 minutes on the clock, Man City’s exit-bound midfielder Kevin De Bruyne sent a cross into the Everton penalty, with Savinho attempting to get on the end of that ball at the back post.
As he made his move though, the winger went to ground after being pulled back by Leeds United loanee Harrison, leaving him appealing for a penalty.
| Savinho vs Everton | Total (from SofaScore) |
| Shots on Target | 1 |
| Shots off Target | 0 |
| Successful Dribbles | 1/2 |
| Successful Passes | 25/29 |
| Key Passes | 1 |
Referee Hooper elected not to award a spot kick, and with replays showing contact to be minimal, VAR did not intervene to alter that decision either.
Hackett though, believes that the limited contact should not have been enough to deny Savinho a penalty.
‘Man City star unlucky not to get penalty’ – Keith Hackett
After being asked by Football Insider if he felt Man City could have been awarded a penalty after that pull by Harrison, the former referee said:
“I think he’s got strong justification for a penalty kick to be awarded. This is typical though of a referee doing nothing.
“So let’s consider that, if it’s a clear holding offence, I don’t agree with the edict that it’s got to be sustained, the law is quite clear that a holding offence is an offence, that holding is an offence.
“I think what the PGMOL have done is raised the bar and said they want it sustained and they almost want it like a shirt being grabbed off.
“For me, you’ve got two things for the referee here, in law. It’s either penalty kick, or if it’s not a penalty kick, it’s not nothing. The forward then has to be cautioned for simulation. So sort your act out!
“It’s a simple as that, if you as a referee don’t think that is a holding offence for which a penalty kick should be awarded, then caution the player, yellow card for simulation, sorted. Doing nothing is not an option.”
Man City will continue their attempts to secure European football on Tuesday (22 April) when they host Aston Villa at the Etihad.