Exclusive: Ex-PGMOL chief outraged by Stuart Attwell incident in Wolves v Everton
Wolves midfielder Andre was named as TNT Sports’ man of the match in the 1-1 draw with Everton at Molineux on Saturday.
However, the Brazilian could have easily been sent off in the Premier League stalemate.
Jack Harrison’s deflected first-half strike was cancelled out by Marshall Munetsi’s goal seven minutes later, leading to both teams earning a point they will have likely been pleased with.
Stuart Attwell, however, could have shown red to Andre, 23, in the 53rd minute.
Andre squares up to Attwell in shock Wolves v Everton incident
Everton moved up to 14th in the Premier League table with the point they earned at Molineux – but the second half could have played out very differently if Wolves were reduced to 10 men.
Attwell booked Andre after the Wanderers’ midfielder protested a foul he conceded against Everton in his side’s defensive half.
However, the South American decided to protest by essentially squaring up to the referee.
| Played | GD | Points | |
| 13. Tottenham | 27 | +14 | 33 |
| 14. Everton | 28 | -4 | 33 |
| 15. Man United | 27 | -6 | 33 |
| 16. West Ham | 27 | -15 | 33 |
Keith Hackett was outraged by the incident after seeing a replay of it.
The former PGMOL general manager claims that Attwell could have easily red-carded Wolves’ man of the match for his aggressive reaction to conceding a free-kick.
“If the referee is to maintain authority, then the approach by this player into the face of Stuart Attwell is unacceptable,” Hackett told Goodison News.
“The action is bordering a red card and what would have confirmed to me that Attwell should have issued a red card is what the player said to him.
“The player is fortunate to escape with a yellow card.”
Referees have to take hard-line action on dissent
There’s no way that Attwell should have stood for what Andre did.
It wasn’t the usual dissent where a player swears about a decision, says something childish or protests a bit too wildly.
In this instance, Andre got up off the floor like a rocket, got right up into Attwell’s face and started shouting.
A yellow card was the absolute minimum punishment of what he should have received.
He should have been sent for an early bath and that might have been a major advantage for Everton in the closing stages of the game at Molineux.