Credit: Imago

Max Wilkins

Sat 28 February 2026 14:45, UK

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Sunderland were left aggrieved when they weren’t awarded a penalty against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.

The Black Cats travelled to the Vitality Stadium and felt as if they should have had a spot kick within just minutes of kick off in the 1-1 draw.

Enzo Le Fee was brought down inside the penalty area after a clumsy challenge from Cherries defender Alex Jimenez.

The Spaniard shoved the Sunderland attacking midfielder in the back and sent him to the ground, leaving everyone to look towards referee Jarred Gillett.

VAR upheld the no-penalty decision, much to the bafflement of Granit Xhaka, who couldn’t believe the call on the south coast.

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Why didn’t Enzo Le Fee get a penalty vs Bournemouth?

There surely would have been very few complaints if the Mackems had been awarded a chance from 12-yards within three minutes at the Vitality.

The Bournemouth full-back quite obviously leaned on the Frenchman and made no contact with the ball with his challenge.

Gillett clearly didn’t think it was enough for a penalty, as ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett outlines the reasoning for the no penalty call.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Hackett said: “Frankly, the attacker has gone to ground too easily, and that is why referee Gillett has waved away appeals.

“VAR, because of the subjective nature of the decision, has not intervened and supported the referee.“

Despite this, the former referee was in disagreement with the Australian official and believes a spot kick should have been awarded.

He added: ” Jimenez, in my opinion, has got away with one. This, for me, is a push by him and should have been penalised with a penalty kick.”

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Sunderland fall victim to Jarred Gillett’s no penalty call

The Black Cats have every right to feel furious that they weren’t afforded the chance to score from 12 yards early on at the Vitality.

Hackett feels as if a penalty would have been a fair result for the away side, and there won’t be many Sunderland fans who disagree.

That is especially the case due to Le Fee’s excellent record from the penalty spot, which has usually seen him score from the spot.

The former Roma man has scored 75 per cent of his attempted penalties at the Stadium of Light, with his only miss coming after a penenka against Brentford earlier this season.

If a spot kick had been awarded and scored by the Frenchman, there is every chance Le Bris’ men would have sealed three points rather than the one they had to settle for.

Either way, it was still a very positive point on the south coast for the Mackems.