"Is Darren England Fit for the Premier League?" – Ex-Referee Questions Official After Arsenal's Controversial Draw with Everton
Former top-flight referee Keith Hackett has questioned Darren England’s ability to officiate at the highest level after a series of controversial decisions in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Everton.
Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Everton on Saturday afternoon has stirred up plenty of controversy and now former top referee Keith Hackett has shared his thoughts on the matter.
Leandro Trossard scored the first goal of the game, giving Arsenal the lead. But things changed in the second half when it was ruled that Arsenal’s young player Myles Lewis-Skelly had fouled Jack Harrison in the penalty area. Referee Darren England pointed to the spot immediately, and the call stood after being reviewed by VAR official Stuart Attwell.
David Raya was unable to stop Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye from carefully converting the penalty, resulting in a 1-1 draw. Arsenal had an additional 40 minutes, including extra time, to try to and win the matcg, however Everton’s solid defense stopped the Gunners.
The penalty incident was not the only thing talked about among the fans after the match. Near the end of the match referee England appeared to blow the final whistle around 10 seconds earlier before the full four minutes of added time had been played. This caused more and more confusion especially as he then awarded a free-kick to Everton for a foul on James Tarkowski instead of ending the game.
Keith Hackett who used to be one of the Premier League’s top referees, openly questioned whether Darren England should still be officiating at the Big games after these decisions.
In an interview with Football Insider, Hackett said:
“We really need to be asking if Darren England is frankly good enough to officiate at the elite level. I do think that when he blows his whistle his left arm is stretched out signalling a free-kick and not full-time.”
This draw was a setback for Arsenal in the title race. They are now 11 points behind leaders Liverpool, who can extend their lead to 14 points if they beat Fulham.
Mikel Arteta seemed to have one eye on a bigger challenge ahead. Star players Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard both started on the bench, showing that Arsenal were likely prioritising their Champions League quarter-final clash against Real Madrid. The first leg of that tie will be played at the Emirates on Tuesday.
