Stoke City vs Southampton ref watch: Three decisions Farai Hallam got wrong, including penalty shouts
Southampton cruised to a vital 2-0 victory against Stoke as Finn Azaz and Flynn Downes struck in either half at the bet365 Stadium.
Southampton started the brighter and found an early breakthrough as a quick breakaway saw Tom Fellows find Azaz for a simple tap-in at the back-post.
They continued to have the better chances, and went 2-0 up just after the interval as Downes poked home from a corner following a flick-on.
Stoke hit the post late on through Tatsuki Seko, but Southampton won 2-0 to relieve the pressure on Tonda Eckert after a run of one win in their last nine league games.
Farai Hallam was involved in a controversial incident in Man City’s win over Wolves last week, and he was the man in the middle here, with Football Insider looking at three decisions he got wrong.
Southampton should have had an early penalty as Jack Stephens pulled down
The game started in frantic fashion before Southampton notched the opener, with a contentious decision made in the seventh minute as Hallam ignored Stephens’ claims for a foul in the Stoke area.
Leo Scienza’s corner was safely cleared by the hosts, but the Saints captain was clearly dragged down by stand-in Potters right-back Maxi Talovierov away from the direction of the ball.
Replays showed that, had Hallam seen the offence, he would have surely given a spot-kick just minutes before Southampton scored.
Finn Azaz should not have been booked for simulation after another penalty shout
The Saints’ domination continued throughout the first-half, and they had another shout for a penalty in the 29th minute as Ashley Phillips stuck a leg out and looked to have caught Azaz on the left side of the box.
Hallam immediately blew his whistle, as the home fans’ held their breath, but he pointed for a free-kick to the Potters as Azaz was deemed to have dived under pressure and booked for simulation.
While it may not have been a penalty, there was clear contact from Phillips on Azaz’s knee, and so Hallam was wrong to show the Saints playmaker a yellow card.
Hallam should not have stopped Stoke’s counter after Phillips went down
Stoke were aiming to draw level as the half kicked off, and they could have had a fine chance to do so in the 50th minute, but for Hallam’s decision to bring the play back for an injury to Phillips.
A Southampton corner had been easily claimed by Tommy Simkin, as he rushed to the edge of his box and launched a throw towards the hosts’ attackers, of which there were three running forward quickly against one Saints defender.
Stoke did not get the chance to continue their attack, however, as Hallam blew his whistle for a foul on Phillips, who was just getting up after being dragged to the floor.
The Potters’ centre-back did not suffer a head injury of any kind, and so the referee should have simply played on with the hosts’ on the attack.