Ex-PGMOL chief: 'Really damaging' West Ham vs Burnley incident shows why rules must be changed

Taty Castellanos’ poor challenge on Kyle Walker in Burnley's 2-2 draw against West Ham United shows why lawmakers must introduce a sin bin rule.

That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that governing bodies need to consider a rule change after the ‘unacceptable’ challenge from the Hammers attacker.

The 27-year-old faced calls to receive his marching orders against the Clarets after he knocked Walker to the ground when he was attempting to head the ball.

Referee Josh Smith did had Castellanos a yellow card for the incident, but did not believe that it was worthy of a red card.

Hackett believes that Smith came to the right conclusion based on the current laws of the game, but insists that a sin bin rule should be introduced for these types of challenges in the future.

Keith Hackett: Football needs a sin bin rule after Taty Castellanos vs Burnley 

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Hackett explained why he believed that the referee made the right decision to keep Castellanos on the pitch as he called for a sin bin rule to be introduced.

He said: “Football has it wrong; rugby's got it right, and in this situation the player would receive a yellow card and, in addition to a sin bin. 

“This is where if we had a sin bin in football, it would be used, in my opinion. 

“I think that, first of all, this incident warranted a yellow card. I have to say that I thought the referee, Josh Smith, had a really good game, and I'm not so sure that he actually was in a position to judge this particular incident because the ball was in the air; it's about viewing angles, and I don't know what the actual view that the referee had of that incident. 

“For me, the reason it's not a red is because one there isn’t excessive force, and there is clearly no malice or brutality in the challenge, so it doesn't meet the red card criteria for serious foul play.

“But we saw the potential of a really damaging, unacceptable challenge. The player didn't make a challenge for the ball, and therefore I think the referee yellow-carding the player is the correct decision under the current law for a reckless act. 

“It's not a red card, even though it might endanger the safety of the opponent, because it doesn't have that excessive force and malice in the criteria; that's why he's got a yellow and not a red.

He later added: “I think that is where, when you see the lawmakers of our game, and they view that, then they must have a look at the law to say, is the law currently a sufficient sanction for what has happened? Or where a player is off the ground? 

“And if this incident takes place, are we going to increase the sanction? But within the laws of the game, the referees acted correctly.”

What is a sin bin?

Sin bins have been a hot topic of conversation in football for years.

In Rugby, when a player is sin binned, they are forced to exit the field of play for 10 minutes, meaning the team is a player down until the referee allows them to return.

Plenty of people across football have been calling for this rule to be introduced for years, which has resulted in a series of trials taking place over the past decade.

However, it remains to be seen if this will ever become a permanent rule in football in the coming years.