The point wasn’t enough for the Foxes to avoid relegation
Referee Thomas Kirk gave Leicester City a penalty against Hull City(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Leicester City star Abdul Fatawu should have been booked for simulation rather than being awarded a penalty against Hull City, according to ex-Premier League referees chief Keith Hackett.
Fatawu went down under a challenge from half-time substitute Lewis Koumas early in the second half, with referee Thomas Kirk eventually giving the Foxes a spot kick.
Jordan James powered in the spot-kick to cancel out Liam Millar’s 18th-minute winner and lift some of the King Power Stadium gloom, and two minutes later, Luke Thomas made it 2-1 as the game turned on its head.
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Oli McBurnie salvaged a point for City, who fell out of the play-offs for the first time in four months with just two games to go, but the game hinged on the penalty decision.
Hackett, who used to be in charge of the PGMO, the organisation that oversees refereeing in the Premier League and EFL, criticised Kirk’s decision.
“The referee’s positioning and movement do not leave him with the ideal viewing angle to make this decision,” Hackett told Football Insider.
“His assistant does have the best view in the house and doesn’t raise his flag to indicate a foul. I believe that the Leicester City player goes to ground too easily in an act of simulation. And he succeeds in deceiving the referee. It’s not a penalty kick for me. He should have been yellow-carded.”
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