Brighton can be disappointed they were not awarded a late penalty during their defeat to Brentford, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that Rico Henry should have been penalised for hauling down Lewis Dunk inside the penalty area.
There have been suggestions Fabian Hurzeler is under pressure after clashing with Brighton supporters, so defeat here will not have helped his cause.
A 4-2 loss at Brentford on Saturday (19 April) means the Seagulls have now failed to win any of their last six games in all competitions.
They may though have been unfortunate not to have had a chance to earn a point late on in that particular game.
Rico Henry lives dangerously on his return to action
With an hour gone in the match, Brentford looked to be on their way to a comfortable win with a 3-1 lead, and Joao Pedro having been sent off for the visitors.
As the game entered the last 15 minutes, Bees boss Thomas Frank brought on Rico Henry for his first appearance since the draw with Man City back in January.
Moments after that, potential Liverpool summer transfer target Karou Mitoma pulled a goal back for the ten men of Brighton to make it 3-2 with ten minutes of normal time remaining.
As the Seagulls then went in search of an equaliser, they felt they should have been given a chance to pull level from the spot.
With Dunk going forward for a Brighton corner, the centre-back then went to ground as he attempted to reach the ball, with replays showing Henry holding on and dragging down his opponent.
Despite appeals from the visitors, referee Tim Robinson did not award a penalty, a decision that was confirmed by VAR.
Hackett though, believes this is another example of holding in the area not being correctly punished by officials with a penalty kick.
‘Brighton hard done by over penalty claims’ – Keith Hackett
Speaking to Football Insider about the decision not to award a penalty to Hurzeler‘s side over that incident, the former referee said:
“This is a nailed on penalty kick. When are referees going to sanction grappling and stop the game becoming more like rugby?”
Following this latest defeat, Brighton remain tenth in the Premier League, six points adrift of a European place as things stand.
Brentford meanwhile are just one position and two points behind the Seagulls, having picked up just their second win in the last seven games with this victory.
