Southampton star Flynn Downes should have been sent off and given a lengthy suspension for blatant foul play during their 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
The former PGMOL chairman and ex-FIFA official claimed that the 25-year-old was fortunate to stay on the pitch after compromising his opponent’s safety with a lunge on Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.
Match official Anthony Taylor was given plenty of abuse from the home supporters for his officiating display, in a game marred by several questionable decisions.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side secured all three points with three first-half goals from Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Chris Wood.
The visitors’ second-half goals came from Jan Bednarek and Paul Onuachu, but Nikola Milenkovic’s header was ruled out for offside after a VAR review, and the game concluded 3-2.
Southampton’s Flynn Downes was lucky to avoid a red card against Nottingham Forest.
Forest fans were relieved to walk away with all three points, but they believed the referee’s poor decision-making could have cost them a crucial victory in their quest for European qualifying.
Despite the game’s five goals and lots of late drama, the post-game focus was primarily on the officials’ performance following a controversial display.
Four Southampton players received yellow cards, but Downes was considered as fortunate following an ill-tempered performance.
The midfielder committed four fouls in his 45 minutes on the field, earning a yellow card, but suspicions of an elbow and a hard lunging challenge caused plenty of displeasure.
Hackett insisted that Downes’ lunging challenge, after he left the floor and collided with Gibbs-White’s achilles tendon, deserved a straight red card.
“When a player leaves the ground with one or both feet, he loses control,” he told Football Insider.
“He cannot halt or change direction.
“This player launches himself with tremendous power, endangering the safety of his opponent.
“Therefore, he should have received a red card for significant foul play.
“The referee has been far too lenient and I can only assume he had a poor viewing angle of the foul.”
