Keith Hackett disagrees with West Ham star Declan Rice’s view of Hungary’s penalty against England
We’re delighted to welcome former Premier League referee Keith Hackett as our exclusive West Ham United columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium.
Keith Hackett believes Hungary were correctly awarded a penalty against England last week despite West Ham star Declan Rice calling the player out.
After the match, the 22-year-old described the Hungarian player as “pathetic” for diving in his view [Mirror].
However, Hackett disagrees but did warn against other players making the most of things and diving to get decisions.
Speaking exclusively to the West Ham Zone, he said: “You reap what you sow in football.
“One of my concerns is that we are getting players over-exaggerating injury and going to ground, and this is a concern.
“Crying wolf leads to referees ignoring it and saying ‘well, he’s on one,’ and not taking any action.
“So, I think that this is the scenario; I don’t know where it’s coming from.
“What players have got to understand is that making a careless challenge is a foul.
“I thought this [Hungary penalty] was a good decision.”
Hackett is very clear on Rice’s comments.
It is very clear to see that Hackett doesn’t think that the penalty was a dive, and perhaps Rice’s words were too harsh.
Looking back on the incident, you can see that Luke Shaw’s foot is very high, and you have to wonder if it really needed to be in such a position [Sky Sports YouTube].
Now, you could argue that the penalty was a bit soft, but to call the player who went down pathetic is a bit harsh, and perhaps Rice needs to tone that down.
If it had been the other way around, we can’t imagine that the West Ham player would have minded too much, and we also can’t imagine he would have been bothered if the Three Lions won the game.
Certainly, it seems as if the frustration of the result caused Rice to react in the way he did.
However, we can imagine that he will be a lot happier now after the Irons’ win on Sunday.
In other West Ham news, Michail Antonio discusses the club’s progression.
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