Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett has called for action from both the PGMOL and the football authorities following an issue he spotted in Chelsea's home loss to Aston Villa.
The Blues were beaten 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, despite taking the lead through Joao Pedro. A brace from Ollie Watkins in the second half was enough to turn the game in the away team's favour, with Unai Emery's men equalling a club record of 11 wins in a row.
With set-pieces seemingly becoming ever more influential at the top-tier of English football, it was perhaps no surprise to see both teams score from a corner during this match. With more attention being put on such moments, Hackett has spoken strongly about the officiating of these set-plays.
Hackett Takes Issue With 'Grappling' at Corners
Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins scores their second goal vs Chelsea from a corner
The former FIFA-listed referee made clear his dissatisfaction over how referee Stuart Attwell and his team dealt with all the 'wrestling' between players whenever a corner kick was taken. Speaking via Football Insider on social media, he said:
"Football is supposed to be the beautiful game. What we are seeing, however, at corner kicks is totally unacceptable. Grappling, wrestling, blocking, holding, pulling, going unpunished.
The nonsense of the referee going in and having a word, coming out and then letting it happen. Sadly, the PGMOL need to clamp down, and so do the football authorities. Let's have our game back. It's football, not rugby, that we want to watch.
PMGOL Rule Appears To Have Been Forgotten By Officials
Interestingly enough, there was talk that officials had been instructed to clamp down on this sort of issue for the 2025/26 season. ESPN reported that players holding an opponent inside the penalty box will be an area of focus for referees'.
However, it doesn't appear to have been something put into practice very often so far this term. One fan noted this online, asking: "I thought they had decided to clamp down at the start of this season?" Hackett, however, suggested that it has simply been overlooked, replying: "I don’t think it got off the ground."
The amount of 'grappling' in both penalty boxes for the opening Chelsea goal, and the winning Villa goal, and throughout the game in general, is certainly a topic up for debate. With Hackett taking personal umbrage with it, it will be interesting to see if the PGMOL or footballing authorities see it as enough of an issue to revisit the laws of the game at any stage in the near future.