Keith Hackett: Portsmouth's Regan Poole deserved red in win over Blackburn
03/29/2025 04:51 PM
Portsmouth defender Regan Poole should have been sent off during his side’s win over Blackburn Rovers, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the full-back used “excessive force” with a challenge on opposition attacker Yuki Ohashi.
John Mousinho’s side took a big step towards avoiding relegation from the Championship with victory over the Lancashire club at Fratton Park on Saturday (29 March).
By contrast, Valerien Ismael has failed to make an impact since taking over from John Eustace at Ewood Park last month, after the likes of Gary O’Neil and Richie Wellens had been linked with the Blackburn job.
That poor run continued with this defeat on the south coast, although there was one moment where the Lancashire club can seemingly feel hard done by over one particular decision.
Regan Poole booked after Yuki Ohashi foul
Prior to the international break, Blackburn were beaten 2-1 by Cardiff after being denied a stoppage time penalty they had initially been awarded.
They then fell behind to a Josh Murphy goal 20 minutes into the game following a lapse in defensive concentration.
| Blackburn Rovers under Valerien Ismael | Result |
| Norwich City (H) | Drew 1-1 |
| Derby County (A) | Lost 2-1 |
| Stoke City (A) | Lost 1-0 |
| Cardiff city (H) | Lost 2-1 |
| Portsmouth (A) | Lost 1-0 |
Shortly before half time, Poole then went into referee Jeremy Simpson’s book following a late and rash sliding challenge on Ohashi.
With Simpson having immediately gone to his pocket to produce a card, many had expect the nature of the foul and speed of his reaction to lead to the Portsmouth man receiving his marching orders.
Hackett now believes that Poole should have indeed been shown a red card by the referee, rather than the yellow he actually received.
‘Portsmouth man should have walked against Blackburn Rovers’ – Keith Hackett
After being asked by Football Insider if Poole should have been sent off for that challenge, the former referee said:
“One of the processes of a referee is to see, recognise, think and act. The wrong coloured card was produced.
“The challenge used excessive force and endangered the safety of his opponent with serious foul play that should be sanctioned by a red card.”
Blackburn have now slipped to 11th in the Championship table, five points adrift of the play-offs, while Portsmouth are 17th, seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Both teams have seven games left to play this season, with Rovers next hosting Middlesbrough on Friday (4 April), while Pompey travel to Millwall the following day.
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