Exclusive: Keith Hackett – Foden should have gone down to get penalty v Everton
We’re delighted to welcome former Premier League referee Keith Hackett as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Everton.
Keith Hackett has suggested that Phil Foden should have gone to ground in order to win a penalty when Manchester City faced Everton on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola kept his side on track for the quadruple this season after they progressed to the FA Cup semi-final, scoring twice in the final ten minutes to ease past a resilient Everton.
City could have had a golden chance to score much earlier in the game though, with Mason Holgate putting in a rash challenge on Foden in the penalty area in the first half, though the England international remained on his feet.
Talking exclusively to Goodison News Hackett suggested Foden should have gone down, saying: “I think if he’d have gone down, Michael Oliver might have been pointing to the penalty spot.
“For me as a referee I believe players need to do what they need to do. The ultimate thing is, if I’m being blunt, I know full well that there is a stronger chance of a penalty kick being awarded when a player is fouled and goes to ground than when he’s fouled and stays on his feet.
“Because the referee then at that point is probably thinking to himself I’m not going to blow because you might score.”
Several Everton players, notably Yerry Mina, had complaints with the referee after Kevin De Bruyne scored the second goal for the visitors. Riyad Mahrez pulled out of a high challenge before making contact in the build up but Mina believed his high foot should have been punished.
Hackett didn’t see anything wrong with Mahrez’s actions though, saying: “It was okay. I genuinely didn’t think there was a problem with it.”
Holgate’s challenge was certainly dangerous and unnecessary, and the lack of repercussions highlight an issue with how referees approach potential penalty situations.
Various players across the Premier League have earned reputations for going down easy and conning the officials, and those players do so because they’ve been taught that they have to in order to provide their side an advantage.
Though Everton would have suffered on this specific occasion, the Premier League would be better off if referees were to award penalties in instances like this instead of perpetuating the need for players to go to ground.
In other Everton news, France manager Didier Deschamps believes that Lucas Digne is often overlooked because he plays for Everton.