Ex-refs chief: 'Out of control' Everton star should have been sent off vs West Ham

Jordan Pickford was fortunate not to be sent off for a wild challenge on Taty Castellanos during Everton‘s defeat to West Ham.

That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that the goalkeeper showed a “degree of malice” when launching himself at the London Stadium.

It was only two games ago when Pickford picked up a caution against Brentford, having fouled Kevin Schade after a minute, and the Toffees’ No.1 was lucky not to suffer a similar fate.

With Callum Wilson scoring a buzzer-beating winner in East London, the incident didn’t have an overall impact on the result, but it certainly resulted in a lot of controversy and fallout from the game.

Jordan Pickford ‘endangered’ Taty Castellanos at the London Stadium

Referee Stuart Attwell and VAR official Michael Salisbury are facing a lot of backlash, with Everton CEO Angus Kinnear contacting the PGMOL over the Toffees not getting a blatant penalty at the other end.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “This is a red-card offence. Pickford should have been sent off. He’s launched himself off the ground, which means he’s out of control. 

“He can’t change direction, and he can’t stop. His landing area is on the opponent. This is serious foul play. It’s not reckless; it fulfils the serious foul play remit.

“It endangered the safety of his opponent, and it had a degree of malice in the challenge. Under the laws of the game, it’s a red card.”

Angus Kinnear told to take harsher action amid PGMOL contact

Pickford’s red-card challenge, combined with Mateus Fernandes’ missed handball inside the penalty area, are both examples of the PGMOL officials not being up to the task this weekend.

Angus Kinnear is understood to be making contact with Howard Webb and the PGMOL to raise concerns over the consistency of refereeing in the Premier League, but he is already being urged to do more.

Hackett told Football Insider that Everton’s CEO should go straight to Richard Masters, CEO of the Premier League, and request to know what action is going to be taken.

The former PGMOL chief believes that the suitable punishment would be for Salisbury to be suspended until the end of the 2025-26 campaign, with a review taking place over his status as a Premier League official.

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