‘Oh dear’ – Ex-refs chief baffled over double Lucas Digne controversy in Aston Villa vs Newcastle
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that Chris Kavanagh should have awarded a penalty for handball at Villa Park.
Eddie Howe’s side were pushed right until the end by 10 men after Marco Bizot was sent off for Villa, sealing the win through a Sandro Tonali double and a third from Nick Woltemade.
In addition to the red card, there were several contentious moments on Saturday, 14 February, not least the Magpies being awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box despite Digne being inside the area when handling the ball.
Lucas Digne somehow escapes blatant penalty at Villa Park
Replays showed that the French international was not even close to being outside the area, but with Kavanagh receiving no help from his assistants, a free-kick was awarded.
Although Tonali would fire home the equaliser from outside the area following the free-kick, the incident left a lot of questions about the standard of refereeing in England.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “Oh dear. Referee Chris Kavanagh really should have received appropriate intervention by the assistant to advise that it was in the penalty area.”
That was not the only contentious incident surrounding Digne, who had launched into quite a tough challenge in the first 45 minutes, which could have landed him in a lot of trouble.
Aston Villa should have been down to 10 men vs Newcastle
In the 42nd minute, long before the penalty controversy, the 32-year-old picked up a yellow card after a sliding challenge on Newcastle winger Jacob Murphy, one which could have injured the winger badly.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Hackett was certain that a red card should have been shown instead, saying: “The challenge by Digne should have received a red card. It was clear serious foul play.”
The build-up of controversial incidents at Villa Park is only more evidence that referees in England are overreliant on VAR technology, with multiple moments missed during the FA Cup fourth-round tie.
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