Referee Igor Pajac was correct to caution Dan Ndoye during Nottingham Forest’s frustrating defeat to Braga in the Europa League.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that Sean Dyche’s side did not deserve a second penalty on Thursday, 22 January.
Morgan Gibbs-White is so reliable for Forest, but the attacking midfielder missed from the spot before Ryan Yates‘ own goal, and the Reds wanted another chance to score from 12 yards in the closing stages.
With six minutes of added time about to be announced, the pacey winger charged into the penalty area, appearing to go down under a challenge from former Wolves star Joao Moutinho.
Calls for a penalty were waved away, and in fact, the player earned himself a yellow card, much to his own bemusement, before VAR confirmed the on-field decision.
Dan Ndoye goes to ground far too easily for Keith Hackett
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the incident, the former referee backed the decision not to award a penalty, suggesting that Ndoye has indeed attempted to buy a spot-kick.
“This clip highlights how difficult it is for match officials to determine the actions of players inside the penalty area when moving at speed, in possession of the ball, and then falling to the ground, exaggerating the fall,” he said
“Players will manufacture contact to win a penalty kick. Two top officials have determined that the player was guilty of an act of simulation in an effort to deceive them.
“With top-quality replay equipment, the decision had been supported by VAR. I support the call.”
Ryan Yates infuriates the fanbase with his post-match interview
Yates was clearly unfortunate to deflect the ball into the back of his own net, but his post-match interview was senseless, idiotic, thoughtless, or all of the above.
He was seen laughing about the incident, just minutes after coming off the pitch after a dreadful away performance, one which fans travelled miles to come and watch and support.
Unsurprisingly, it has not gone down well with the fans, and even if the Reds had been able to equalise from the spot in the closing stages, nothing could take away from the overall display.
Forest now have a must-win game against Ferencvaros left, if automatic qualification is still on the cards.
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