NafisaFabian Hurzeler was left fuming that Matheus Cunha wasn’t dismissed in Brighton’s victory away to Wolves, and Keith Hackett has weighed in on the incident.
The former PGMOL boss and ex-FIFA referee exclusively told Football Insider that he had “expected a red card to be shown” to Cunha following the late tackle.
Wolves suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Brighton at Molineux, with goals from Danny Welbeck and Brajan Gruda securing all three points for the Seagulls on their trip back to the south coast.
The outcome keeps Fabian Hurzeler’s men firmly in contention for European qualification next season, with a Europa Conference League place still within reach.
Hurzeler livid Cunha wasn’t dismissed for Wieffer foul:
Midway through the opening half, Cunha recklessly lost possession in his own territory, and Brighton’s Mats Wieffer looked poised to capitalise on the Brazilian’s blunder.
Instead, Cunha took out the full-back with a sweeping challenge to halt his shot, and Michael Oliver instantly awarded a penalty.
Even with the spot-kick given, Brighton manager Hurzeler was irate on the touchline, with the German astonished that the Wolves forward hadn’t been shown red.
Manchester United-linked Cunha was spared by the double jeopardy rule, as the referee judged that he had made an effort to play the ball.
Hurzeler wasn’t persuaded by that explanation, and even after Welbeck slotted home the penalty, he remained vocal with the fourth official.
Keith Hackett says Cunha got away with it:
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Hackett shared that he also found fault with the contentious call and believed Cunha should have been given his marching orders.
“We see Cunha making frankly no attempt to challenge for the ball, instead playing the man and bringing him down to the ground.
“It’s a foul challenge for which the penalty kick was the correct call.
“I would have then expected a red card to be applied for the denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity.”
Hackett had earlier questioned a separate decision in the match, when Welbeck thought he had opened the scoring for Brighton, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.
Nafisa
