Former FIFA referee Keith Hackett has accused Cody Gakpo of ‘cheating’ and called for the Liverpool forward to be banned following a controversial penalty incident during the 1-1 draw with Burnley
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo was fouled by Florentino Luis and won a penalty against Burnley(Image: )
Former FIFA referee Keith Hackett believes The FA should actually investigate Cody Gakpo and even suspend the Liverpool striker following his alleged dive to earn a penalty against Burnley. With the match goalless, the Reds attacker tumbled under a challenge from Clarets midfielder Florentino Luis.
Football supporters remained somewhat unconvinced, and whilst Dominik Szoboszlai took the resulting spot-kick, his effort from 12 yards struck the crossbar. Following the award of the dubious penalty, Burnley fans felt justice had been done.
Hackett has now taken things a step further, arguing that a panel should be established to ban players for incidents of simulation.
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The former PGMOL chief told Football Insider: “This is a dive, and not a very good one. No way is this a penalty, and it’s not even a clever one.
“Next, you really start to question the match official, and what he’s seen, and also what VAR are doing to allow him to get to that decision.
“This was nowhere near a penalty. There are acts of simulation where players are really good, fooling referees, and you need a few replays to rule it out.
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“This is why I’ve said we need a panel on a Monday, with a view to suspensions for players trying to cheat. We all want to win, but let’s win properly.”
Liverpool eventually found the breakthrough via Florian Wirtz just before the interval, with the German midfielder proving to be the star performer for Arne Slot’s team.
However, Marcus Edwards levelled the score in the second half just after the hour mark, finding the back of the net to give the relegation battlers a crucial point away from home.
Burnley boss Scott Parker also believed the decision to award a penalty was a soft one, but was delighted with his side’s response in the second half.
“We had to weather a lot in the first half but we showed more of our quality in the second half,” Parker said.
“We changed a few things at half-time, it was important we were still in the game then, we were braver in possession and well worthy of our goal. It was an incredible finish (by Edwards).
“The penalty was soft but once the referee gives it on-field it’s never going to be overturned. The key for us was getting in at half-time still in the game so we could fix a few things.”
