Keith Hackett hails officials' 'great' call as Bolton star Morley sent off vs Blackpool
03/31/2025 12:02 PM
Bolton Wanderers midfielder Aaron Morley can have no complaints about being sent off late on in his side’s defeat to Blackpool, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the officiating team did well to come to the right decision in dismissing the 25-year-old.
After Bolton sacked manager Ian Evatt back in January, Steven Schumacher has had a mixed time of things in the dugout with the Trotters.
That continued on Saturday (29 March) with a 2-1 defeat away to local rivals Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, in a game that ended with a fresh blow with the eventual sending off of Morley.
Aaron Morley sent off after referee changes card colour
As the visitors went in search of an equaliser deep into second half stoppage, goalkeeper Nathan Baxter was among those sent up for a late corner.
That left Bolton with only one man covering in defence, meaning that as the set-piece failed to generate a chance, they were left exposed as the hosts mounted a counter attack.
With Baxter still attempting to track back, Morley pulled back Blackpool’s January signing from Shrewsbury, Tom Bloxham, to stop the attack by conceding a free kick.
Initially, referee Graham Scott only showed the midfielder a yellow card for a cynical foul, before changing that to red following some consideration.
Now, Hackett has hailed the rest of the officials for helping the referee come to the right decision to send the Bolton man off for denying a goalscoring opportunity with the goalkeeper out of the game.
‘Bolton Wanderers red card correct after communication pays off’ – Keith Hackett
Giving his assessment of the way the incident played out to Football Insider, Hackett said:
“He’s (the referee) looking at the challenge and wanting to make certain: is it a foul?
“Clearly it’s a foul, and he’s probably not seen that the goalkeeper is out [of his goal], and there’s a covering defender.
| Steven Schumacher as Bolton Wanderers manager | Total (as per Transfermarkt) |
| Played | 11 |
| Won | 5 |
| Drawn | 1 |
| Lost | 5 |
| Goals Scored | 17 |
| Goals Against | 16 |
| Points | 16 |
“He’s probably then received an indication from his assistant referee, or fourth official, and they are allowed to come in.
“So I believe that he’s received information from his colleagues, rightly, to dismiss this player, because this is denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity, because the goalkeeper’s not in play.
“Had the goalkeeper been in position then that covering defender comes into play, but he can’t come into play if there’s no goalkeeper, so he’s denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity and it’s the correct decision.
“The process is there for the fourth official and two assistants to come in through the communication kit to advise him: ‘look, goalkeeper’s out, that’s red’.
“Good use of the communication kit, and clearly good support from his team of officials, great decision.”
Bolton are next in action when they take on another local rival in the form of Wigan Athletic on Tuesday night (1 April), with Blackpool due to host Reading on the same evening.
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