Keith Hackett backs Simon Hooper over Crystal Palace v Ipswich red card incident
Jacob Greaves escaped a sending off following a challenge on Ismaila Sarr as Ipswich Town faced Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday, and Keith Hackett believes rightly so.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the defender’s foul on the Palace attacker did not meet all the criteria for a Denial of a Goalscoring Opportunity [DOGSO].
Palace were without Jean-Philippe Mateta for the first time since a red-card challenge on the Palace forward during the 3-1 FA Cup win over Millwall last weekend, with Eddie Nketiah starring in his place.
Hackett told Football Insider that Millwall’s Liam Roberts should be facing a minimum five-game ban following the shocking and reckless collision at the Den.
However, it was Sarr who took on the most attacking responsibility in the first half, and it was the winger who would have felt hard done by after being dragged to the floor just outside the penalty area.
Ipswich Town escape further punishment against Crystal Palace
Oliver Glasner‘s side threatened the relegation-bound side for the majority of the first half, piling the pressure on Alex Palmer’s goal, and it could have got even worse had referee Simon Hooper taken further action.
Following a lofted ball over the top, Greaves pulled down the attacker, and with no player in control of the ball at that moment, Hooper dished out a yellow card without a second thought.
The decision was checked and cleared by VAR, even despite calls from the players for an upgrade in card colour, and the Tractor Boys kept all 11 players on the pitch.
While supporters were crying out for a red card on Greaves, Hackett believes that while two of the three criteria were met for DOGSO, it was not enough to warrant more than a yellow card.
Jacob Greaves avoids DOGSO punishment after Ismaila Sarr foul
Speaking to Football Insider about the decision, the former referee said:
“To determine if the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity has taken place the following criteria is taking into account: Distance between the offence and the goal, general direction of the play, and likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball.
“There is clear doubt about the final part with regard to gaining control of the ball so not a DOGSO offence.”
The Eagles have scored in each of their last 12 matches across all competitions, and a sending-off certainly would have helped continue that run, but it was not to be for Glasner’s team.
Greaves, the offender centre-back, has picked up another yellow card following cautions twice against Aston Villa and the other against Palace earlier in the season.
Leave a Reply