Story by
'Wow' - Ex-refs chief can't believe 'deliberate handball' missed in Man City loss to Brighton
- Story by
- 'Wow' - Ex-refs chief can't believe 'deliberate handball' missed in Man City loss to Brighton
Manchester City should have had a penalty in the first half of their 1-0 defeat to Brighton on Saturday.
That is according to former head of PGMOL and FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
Advertisement
The Citizens had several penalty shouts turned down before the break, with Craig Pawson unmoved and VAR John Brooks in agreement.
The strongest claim came when the ball appeared to be headed onto the outstretched hand of Luka Vuskovic inside the penalty box just minutes before the break.
The defeat is Man City's second consecutive in the Premier League, after they were beaten by Aston Villa last week.
Brighton now find themselves just two points behind Enzo Maresca's side, amid what has been an incredibly impressive start to the campaign.
âHandball or no handball ? https://t.co/LNosUyVmvw
— Kalshi Footy (@KalshiFooty) October 31, 2026
Man City should have been awarded a 'penalty kick'
Advertisement
It took just 11 minutes for Brighton to take the lead at the Etihad Stadium, with Yasin Ayari stroking home after the ball had made its way to Maxim De Cuyper.
Man City sought to get back into the game, taking 21 shots overall and going close on countless occasions.
But Bart Verbruggen proved impenetrable, making a remarkable seven saves and preventing 1.74 expected goals.
But Maresca will feel that his team should have been given a chance to get back into the game before half-time, when the ball hit Vuskovic's arm.
The ball had bounced up inside the penalty box and was headed by Diego Gomez, straight into the fully outstretched arm of the Brighton centre-back.
Advertisement
Man City gave significant appeals, but Pawson was not interested and neither was Brooks, clearing the incident quickly.
"Wow," Keith Hackett told Football Insiderafter viewing the incident. "The player has enough time available to withdraw his outstretched arm that is clearly making his body shape bigger.
"That is a deliberate handball and should have resulted in a penalty kick."
James McAtee's stance of making unexpected Man City return revealed Man City error was coming
Unfortunately for Man City, they are just as vulnerable to referee mistakes as any other team in the Premier League.
Advertisement
The Citizens were handed three points at Old Trafford in September when VAR made a huge mistake by allowing Erling Haaland's winning goal.
Saturday's error may well be seen as what Maresca's side had coming back, as is the way the world sometimes works.
The Italian's team still have no excuse for their failure to find the net outside of one brief moment of potential handball.
