Ex-PGMOL Chief: Leicester denied penalty vs Fulham over 'modern day player problem'
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Leicester can have no complaints over not being awarded a penalty early on in their defeat to Fulham, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that there was not enough contact in Raul Jimenez’s challenge on Jordan Ayew to warrant a spot-kick being awarded.
The Foxes suffered a seventh straight Premier League defeat with that loss to on Saturday (18 January), already piling the pressure on manager Ruud van Nistelrooy after his appointment last month.
While Leicester were also left disappointed they were not given a penalty in the opening moments of that loss to Marco Silva’s side, Hackett believes they did not have a valid claim for one.
Leicester rightly denied a penalty early on in Fulham defeat
With less than a minute on the clock in that match at the King Power Stadium, Ayew missed a chance to put the hosts in front after the ball fell to him after a scramble in the area.
The Leicester striker saw his effort parried by Fulham ‘keeper Bernd Leno. Having gone to ground as he took his shot with Jimenez’s arms round his chest, the Ghana international also appealed for a penalty.
Those claims though were waved away by referee Michael Salisbury, and Hackett believes the positioning and amount of contact makes that the right decision.
The former referee also suggested that players should focus more on playing the game rather than looking for fouls from the officials.
When asked by Football Insider if Leicester should have had a penalty for that challenge on Ayew, Hackett said:
“No I don’t think he’s got a case. But I think it’s right to raise it. I think what’s interesting here is the position of the players, not enough for me.
“I think if you’re going to give a penalty kick you’ve got to be 100%. I think the modern game some times the whole question of upper-body challenges often goes unpunished.
“When I coached referees I used to say “no surprises”. If think if he’d given a penalty kick here it would have been a surprise. Not a PK for me.
“This is the problem with the modern-day player: he gets a touch he goes to ground. Some times that contacts not enough.
“I think this is what comes around with holding in a penalty area, you’re asking for a significant amount of holding before you’re given a penalty kick to try and get players to play rather than going to ground.”
Following that defeat Leicester sit 19th in the Premier League, two points from safety, with a trip to Tottenham on Sunday (26 January) to come next.
In other news, the Foxes are in a race to sign one of Tottenham's main targets this January.
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