'I've been critical of Darren England...' - Ex-PGMOL chief re-analyses Gabriel Gudmundsson controversy vs Man United
Gabriel Gudmundsson being shown a red card during Leeds United's draw with Manchester United would have been a "harsh" decision.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that Darren England made a spot-on decision at Elland Road on Sunday, 18 October.
The Premier League official attempted to keep his cards in his pocket, with many feeling that Bruno Fernandes should have been sent off.
Man United's captain was cautioned just two minutes before the Whites' left-back, who went crashing into a challenge on Amad Diallo.
The 27-year-old caught his opponent on the back of his calf with studs up, with the away end up in arms over a yellow card being shown.
After 19 minutes, both teams could have been down a player, but England has been praised for his handling of both situations at Elland Road.
Darren England is 'an improving match official'
The expectation is that sparks will fly when Leeds and Man United face off, but there were not more cards until added time after this incident.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Hackett gave rare praise to the referee, stating that a red card for Gudmundsson would have been harsh.
"I think it's reckless; it would have been harsh to give him a red card for that challenge," he explained.
"I think the referee has got this one spot on. Even though I've been critical of Darren England previously, I do think he's an improving match official."
Both Ethan Ampadu and Andrey Santos went into the referee's notebook in added time, and rightly so, after a coming together between the two.
Did Bruno Fernandes deserve to be sent off?
There was a lot of debate around Fernandes, not just because of his foul on Tarik Muharemovic, but also for his dissent towards England.
After sliding dangerous into his opponent, and before picking up his booking, the 32-year-old absolutely berated the match official.
That should have been enough for a straight red card, let alone two cautionable offences, but he remained on the pitch until full-time.
If he's to remain Man United captain, he'll have to rein in his emotions, or risk putting his teammates in an awful position in future games.