“I was absolutely amazed!” – Vardy’s red card leak against Arsenal’s Mustafi demonstrates the decline in refereeing standards, says Hackett

Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett was “stunned” to see Leicester star Jamie Vardy avoid a red card for kicking Shkodran Mustafi during a 1-1 draw with Arsenal last week.

The England striker’s boot hit the side of the Gunners’ central defender as the pair crashed to the ground following a challenge for the ball in the first half of the Premier League clash.

Referee Chris Kavanagh didn’t seem to detect the incident, however, as Vardy went unpunished and eventually compensated for the fox equalizer in the 84th minute of the clash.

While VAR did not intervene to punish Vardy, he was called later in the game, leading Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah to be sent off in the second period, just four minutes after he left the bench.

The inconsistency infuriated manager Mikel Arteta, who told reporters after the game: “If [Nketiah] it may be a red card, so Leicester must play with 10 men after 42 minutes – this must also be a red card. “

And the Spaniard was not the only one to be baffled by the decision to keep Vardy in the game, as Hackett said, demonstrating that there is a leadership crisis on the board of officials of the professional game match, which is responsible for definition and improvement of arbitration standards in English football.

“I would like to make it clear that Jamie Vardy should have been expelled,” said the 76-year-old Football insider.

“It was a very clear and deliberate act, in my opinion he knew what he was doing.

“I was absolutely amazed that VAR hadn’t intervened, after which my phone started buzzing. I had Mark Halsey on the phone saying,” How can it not be a red card? “

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“I couldn’t believe it, he took a look at where the player is and hit him with his boot!

“I’m flooding myself with emails asking why the arbitration standard in England is going down so much, let me tell you this: it’s because of a lack of leadership and a lack of solid management.

“You can quote me about this, PGMOL is run like Butlin’s holiday camp!”