Keith Hackett blasts Howard Webb’s inconsistencies after ‘unacceptable’ Tottenham and Chelsea incidents
Howard Webb must address inconsistencies in Premier League officiating after two very different decisions on Saturday.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that referees should follow by example after Xavi Simons was sent off against Liverpool.
Alejandro Garnacho deserved to see red against Newcastle United on 20 December, leaving the majority of fans baffled after he got away with a yellow card for his challenge on Jacob Ramsey.
Both incidents were very similar, but with Andy Madley and John Brooks officiating at the separate grounds, two extremely different decisions were reached, even with the help of VAR.
Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho handed very different punishments
There has been an uprise in these types of dangerous, studs-up challenges, with some of them going unpunished by Premier League referees during the 2025-26 campaign.
Mohamed Salah should have seen red against Brentford back in October, while Pedro Porro faced similar calls following a challenge during Spurs’ win over Everton on the same weekend.
Simons was rightly punished, but with two of the aforementioned stars only receiving cautions, and Porro not even being booked for his challenge, there is clearly work for the PGMOL to do this season.
Hackett has sent a very clear message to Webb, who must now address these decisions before more players end up on the treatment table due to reckless tackles.
Howard Webb sent a major warning over ‘unacceptable’ refereeing
Hackett, exclusively speaking to Football Insider on The Final Whistle, said: “That’s down to Howard Webb and Hugh Dallas, the ex-Scottish referee. He works closely with them, and Webb is the overarching one in charge.
“This is down to leadership, training, and development. What I used to do, weekly, was show a series of clips, and we’d discuss them. Before we left the room, we’d say, ‘This type of challenge is yellow, this type of challenge is red.’
“The law is ‘reckless’ and ‘excessive force’, so we’re looking at the endangerment of players. The Garnacho one had malice, the Simons one had malice as well. That level of inconsistency of referees who work together regularly is unacceptable.”