Keith Hackett: Coventry denied ‘clear’ penalty in Stoke thriller
Coventry City should have been awarded a penalty in their Championship win over Stoke City, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that Potters goalkeeper Viktor Johansson was rightly not sent off over the incident.
Frank Lampard had to endure some difficult results after taking charge of Coventry, which left him on the end of taunts from opposition fans.
However, the former Chelsea man has turned things around with the Sky Blues, and saw them climb into the Championship play-off places with victory at home to Stoke on Saturday (8 March).
They were however forced to do things the hard way in that game, and were not helped by a controversial penalty call on the stroke of half time.
Viktor Johansson survives penalty shout over Ephron Mason-Clarke challenge
It was the Sky Blues who had taken the lead in that clash at the CBS Arena, with a double from Victor Torp putting them 2-0 up on their visitors with half-an-hour on the clock.
Coventry then felt they should have had a chance to extend that lead on the stroke of half-time, when a ball over the top was played into the path of Ephron Mason-Clarke.
But as the attacker attempted to bring a bouncing ball under control in the Stoke penalty, opposition goalkeeper Johansson came racing off his line.
However, the Swedish goalkeeper was not penalised by referee David Webb, despite many believing Coventry should have been awarded a penalty.
Now Hackett has backed those claims for a spot-kick to the hosts, although he does not believe there was enough in the challenge to prompt a red card for Johansson.
Keith Hackett reacts as Coventry City miss out on penalty vs Stoke City
When asked by Football Insider whether Coventry should have had a penalty kick and if Johansson should have been sent off, the former referee said:
“That’s a clear penalty kick and yellow card. The reason it should be yellow is that the ball is not fully in control of the forward.
“It was reckless, not serious foul play, and not denial of a goalscoring opportunity.”
It looked as though that would be costly for the Lampard‘s side when Sam Gallagher’s second half brace pulled the score back to 2-2.
However Bobby Thomas’ stoppage time effort was enough to secure a dramatic three points for Coventry.
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