Keith Hackett has made a U-turn on his stance on Chelsea’s opening goal against Aston Villa on Saturday after reviewing the footage.
Goals from Nicolas Jackson, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer saw the Blues beat Unai Emery’s side 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on 1 December, but Jaden Philogene thought he was fouled by Marc Cucurella in the lead-up to Jackson’s goal in the seventh minute.
On first viewing, Hackett, a former FIFA referee and PGMOL chief, thought Stuart Atwell should have given a free-kick to Villa, only to change his mind after seeing the footage again.
Ex-FIFA referee makes U-turn on Chelsea v Villa incident after new footage emerges
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, he said: “I’ve got to say, when I first saw this I thought it was a free-kick, but it’s not
“Football’s a contact sport and that’s not a foul.”
The Birmingham-based cannot also have any complaints about conceding an indirect free-kick in the first half, according to Hackett.
Emi Martinez picked up the ball in the box after Pau Torres played the ball towards him following an apparent miscommunication between the two.
The Argentina international, though, went on to save Palmer’s shot after the free-kick before his Villa teammates blocked Romeo Lavia’s follow-up effort.
Nevertheless, things are looking rather bleak for Aston Villa, who have failed to win each of their last eight games across all competitions.
The Villa Park outfit have also fallen to 12th place in the Premier League, although they remain within four points of fourth place.
It remains to be seen if they can return to winning ways when they host Brentford at home on Wednesday [4 December].
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