Kompany had to go against Leicester City says ex-referee
By James Lassey
Manchester City finished 2-0 winners over Leicester on Saturday, but BBC Match of the Day pundit Mark Lawrenson and ex-referee Keith Hackett have since blasted Graham Scott for not dismissing Vincent Kompany early on.
Goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne ensured the visitor’s the points even though the Citizens could have been down to ten men, three minutes into the game.
Related Story: Leicester City 0-2 Manchester City: Encouraging signs not enough for Foxes
Foxes striker Jamie Vardy had broken clear only to be taken down by the City captain Kompany. An offence which the guests on Monday night’s Ref Show felt deserved further punishment beyond the yellow card which referee Scott brandished
The Belgian international had looked to be the last man as there were no City players between Vardy and a chance on goal.
YELLOW card Kmpany, look to be the last man with Vardy clear and no city man looked to be able to recover #LEIMCI
— Foxes of Leicester (@FoxesofLCFC) November 18, 2017
There has been wide uncertainty over whether the foul warranted a red card as fellow City teammate John Stones was tracking back close-by.
However, the former Referee Manager of the PGMOL Hackett, feels that the decision is clearer cut than many may believe.
"“it is a bad call, Kompany should have gone,” Hackett told The Ref Show on Monday night.“It happened so quickly, at the start of the game, I do not think he was quite alive to it. For me it was a clear deny of a goal scoring opportunity. I do not think even though John Stones was there, he would have got to him.”"
Scott has overseen nine games this season with six of them being in the Premier League including Leicester’s 0-0 draw against Bournemouth in September.
Despite the considerable number, Hackett has since questioned his ability to officiate top-flight matches in the future.
"“I think it is an easy call and he ( Scott) is a rookie referee as far as the Premier League are concerned,” he added. “I do not believe he was switched on.”"
Lawrenson who also featured on the show agreed with his fellow guest and also claims that the foul should have led to Kompany’s dismissal.
"“There is no way he (Stones) would have caught (Jamie) Vardy, People try defending him by saying oh it was really early, that does not matter, he had to go,” he affirmed."
The loss ends manager Claude Puel’s unbeaten start as they head to the London Stadium in a bid to widen the four-point-gap over Friday’s opponents West Ham.