Wilfried Zaha: Ex-Fifa official issues advice to Crystal Palace star after ‘worst I’ve ever seen’
Wilfried Zaha should have inspected the penalty area before his terrible penalty miss during Crystal Palace v Norwich.
That’s according to ex-FIFA and Premier League referee Keith Hackett, speaking exclusively to Football Insider after the winger skewed his spot-kick wide.
Paul Tierney awarded Crystal Palace a penalty during the second half of Wednesday’s (9 February) clash against Norwich.
Zaha, moments after scoring a screamer to bring his side level, stepped up and slipped while taking the penalty.
Hackett praised referee Paul Tierney for awarding the penalty and then handed Zaha a piece of advice he usually keeps reserved for referees.
“Tierney is not the quickest off the ball,” Hackett told Football Insider correspondent Ben Wild.
“But he is a brilliant game reader and that always gets him in the perfect position.
“He was in the perfect position for this and that’s why it was given.
“It’s a quality decision from him, there is absolutely no doubt about it.
“Now the penalty. When I give instructions to referees, I always say prepare for the game.
“Understand the players, the pitch, the weather, look at the geography of the pitch.
“I think players should take a note of that and they should inspect the pitch if they are about to take a penalty or a free kick.
“If Zaha had properly looked at the surface, maybe the miss wouldn’t have happened.
“There is no wat to tell but it might be worth noting because it is one of the worst I have ever seen.”
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