A former Premier League referee has given his verdict on the controversial penalty awarded against Myles Lewis-Skelly during Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Everton on Saturday. The teenager was at the centre of yet another contentious moment as he brought down Jack Harrison within the first 90 seconds of the second half at Goodison Park, allowing Iliman Ndiaye to cancel out Leandro Trossard’s opener.
Lewis-Skelly had previously found himself wronged by officials after being sent off against Wolves – a decision that was subsequently overturned after an appeal. However, Mikel Arteta’s fans were forced to accept the consequences of the spot-kick this time around, as it cost them all three points on Merseyside. Now, an ex-PGMOL chief has shared his thoughts on Darren England’s and VAR Stuart Atwell’s decision.
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Keith Hackett Slams Lewis-Skelly Penalty Decision
The former referee chief admitted to being baffled by Darren England’s call
Speaking to Football Insider, former official Keith Hackett slammed the decision to award a penalty against Myles Lewis-Skelly, suggesting that a free-kick to Arsenal would’ve been the more appropriate decision. Replays showed that both the 18-year-old and Harrison were tussling with one another before they even reached the penalty area, and Hackett believed that pulling the play back to that point would’ve been the safest call for Darren England to make.
“When you look at the penalty kick awarded by Darren England in the Everton vs Arsenal game, it is extremely harsh. On a closer look at the incident, you see that the Everton player [Harrison] initiated the contact and then both players tangled with each other.
“For me, a free kick, safe refereeing, to the defending team should have been the outcome, certainly not a penalty kick awarded.”
Furthermore, Hackett also slammed England for ‘not being good enough,’ and criticised his standard of refereeing.
“We really need to be asking if Darren England is frankly good enough to officiate at the elite level. I do think that when he blows his whistle his left arm is stretched out signalling a free kick and not full-time.”
