Keith Hackett reacts to major controversy in Coventry v Portsmouth
Frank Lampard was fuming in the first half of Coventry’s Championship clash against Portsmouth at the CBS Arena on Wednesday night.
Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s attempted shot from the edge of the area was blocked by Andre Dozzell in the 14th minute.
However, Sky Sports’ replays clearly show the ball hitting Dozzell’s arm, preventing Nicolas Schmid from having to deal with the Coventry star’s left-footed effort from the corner of the penalty area.
Keith Hackett: Coventry should’ve had penalty
After checking out the footage of the incident, former Premier League and Football League referee Keith Hackett said that it was a blatant handball by Dozzell.
Not only did the ball strike the Portsmouth midfielder’s arm, but Hackett also believes that the action towards the ball was deliberate.
“Coventry have reason to complain that a penalty kick was not awarded for a deliberate handball,” Hackett told Pompey News.
“The Portsmouth player made his silhouette bigger by raising his hands to deflect the ball.”
Dozzell, 25, joined Portsmouth on a free transfer last summer after he left QPR at the end of his contract.
The ex-Ipswich midfielder has been an ever-present for John Mousinho’s side in the Championship, earning his 35th league appearance of the season at Coventry.
Portsmouth ride their luck in first half v Coventry
Dozzell’s really grown into his debut season as a Portsmouth player but there’s no doubt that he was lucky to avoid huge criticism for that incident in the first half against Coventry.
It was a sloppy reaction to Sakamoto’s shot, turning his back and raising his arms.
On another day, the referee would have – rightly – pointed to the penalty spot and in a game with VAR in operation, there’s no way he would have gotten away with it.
Mousinho will need to have words with the midfielder at half-time to ensure he’s fully switched on and isn’t making mistakes like that again because referee Gavin Ward will have checked the replays, seen that he was wrong and will be more vigilant of potential issues in the second period.