Sunderland were beaten 1-0 by Brighton on Saturday afternoon.
The Seagulls attacker scored the winning goal on Wearside with a bizarre sliced effort beyond Melker Ellborg just before the hour-mark, but was withdrawn by head coach Fabian Hurzeler with a little under a quarter of an hour remaining after twice coming to the attention of referee Thomas Kirk in quick succession.
Firstly, Minteh was booked for an incident involving Luke O’Nien, with the Brighton star shoving his Sunderland counterpart to the ground. Shortly after, the 21-year-old committed a foul on Chris Rigg, but escaped a caution, and was immediately substituted.
But even taking that second discrepancy out of the equation, Hackett has expressed his belief that Minteh should have been shown a red for his push on O’Nien. Speaking to online outlet Football Insider, the ex-PGMOL chief said: “Wow. The temperature in the game can often sway decisions. I’d be interested in reading the referee’s report.
“There’s almost an attempt to strike. Striking or an attempt to strike is a red-card offence, so I think he’s gotten away with one. I assume that’s for adopting an aggressive attitude or unsporting behaviour. This actually enters the borders of being lucky to stay on the pitch. The manager, in fairness, has done the right thing. He’s done the referee’s job for him.”
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What else has been said about the officiating during Sunderland vs Brighton and Hove Albion?
Elsewhere, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has argued that Kirk made the right decision by allowing Minteh’s winning goal to stand, despite Sunderland midfielder Habib Diarra going to ground in the build-up to the strike.
The Senegalese international was pushed to the floor by Lewis Dunk while Brighton were waiting to take a corner kick, and remained prone throughout the passage of play that led to Minteh’s decisive effort.
But speaking during an appearance on Sky Sports News’ Ref Watch, Gallagher suggested that there had not been enough in the coming together between Diarra and Dunk to warrant a stoppage. He explained: “He [Dunk] hasn’t pushed him in the head or anything, he hasn’t knocked him over. He’s not gone down with a head injury. So I think play on.”
In response to Gallagher’s claims, fellow pundit Jay Bothroyd said: “I agree with Dermot. The referee just hasn’t seen it. The game has to carry on.”
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