‘That’s not in the law’ – Keith Hackett slams ‘muddled’ rules after Trai Hume incident vs Nottingham Forest
Keith Hackett has asked for further clarification from the IFAB after an incident involving Trai Hume against Nottingham Forest.
This comes after the Sunderland defender was claiming a penalty at the City Ground on Saturday, 27 September, having grappled with striker Chris Wood inside the area.
Omar Alderete exposed Forest’s weakness to score the only goal of the game, but that is not to say that the game ended without its controversial moments, thanks to referee Tony Harrington.
The Black Cats scored from a free-kick, one which was awarded against Nicolas Dominguez after being accused of diving on the edge of his own 18-yard box. Fans were baffled by the decision.
Nottingham Forest avoid further embarrassment vs Sunderland
Before the goal was scored, in the 30th minute, Regis Le Bris‘ team were crying out for a penalty after a battle between Hume and Wood, though there was a hint of offside in the incident.
Either way, the calls were not checked by VAR after Harrington waved them away, and that might have been a mistake as Hackett believed that Ange Postecoglou‘s side escaped further damage.
Postecoglou has gotten off to a horrendous start at the City Ground, and even after avoiding an early penalty, his team were still unable to secure any points at home against the newly promoted side.
The defeat leaves the Reds 17th in the Premier League table, just one point above the relegation zone.
Keith Hackett writes to the IFAB over Trai Hume incident
Hackett spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the incident, saying: “The reason I hesitate is… I hear all this talk about ‘sustained holding’, ‘impacting’, and everything that goes with it.
“If I took the basic law of holding, the player’s being held. Therefore, the expectation is the awarding of a foul, so the foul should be punished. He’s got away with one. You’ll hear cries of ‘it wasn’t sustained’.
“That’s not in the law, and I’ve written to the IFAB saying, ‘Where is the instruction that it has to be sustained holding before it’s an offence?’ Your laws of the game say ‘holding is an offence’. Suddenly, the interpretation has been muddled.”