The Verdict: 'Huge error in missing this offence' - Hackett raging at Man City officials

The table is beginning to take shape now, just as the league season breaks for the first international games of the 2026/27 campaign.

Rice should've been sent off

Fortunately for the neutral, some results and performance levels haven't gone as expected, and that was certainly the case at the AMEX Stadium this weekend as Arsenal were deservedly beaten by a vibrant Brighton side.

The match wasn't without incident either, as Declan Rice allowed his frustrations to get the better of him when he kicked out at an opponent.

"In my opinion, Rice should've seen red," Hackett remarked in the aftermath of the match. "It was an off-the-ball incident, and it was a clear kick which broke the threshold for violent conduct.

"PRO Ref are clearly operating with a high bar in these incidents. We witnessed Bruno Fernandes kick Phil Foden in the Manchester derby last week, with the latter red-carded for retaliation, but the Manchester United captain receiving no sanction whatsoever."

Arteta at it again

With teams trying to gain an edge in any way possible, there are regular occurrences when the line is crossed - sometimes literally.

"Mikel Arteta was yellow-carded at Sunderland last week for persistently leaving his technical area, and the Arsenal boss was warned in this game for doing the same," Hackett noted.

In the West London derby between Brentford and Chelsea, aside from the three goals scored by the Bees, there was little else of note for the team of officials to be concerned about.

"Andy Madley and his team produced a low-key, efficient performance, ensuring that controversy was avoided," Hackett added. 

"Valentin Barco went down inside the penalty area, and Chelsea appealed for a penalty which referee Madley correctly refused, later confirmed by VAR.

"It was also good to see Lewis Smith appointed as the fourth official, and he must be in line for a Premier League refereeing appointment very shortly."

Forest need to move their monitor

Coventry belatedly got their first goal of the new season against Nottingham Forest thanks to Jay Dasilva, a strike which also earned them their first three points of the season and lifted them off the foot of the table.

Jarred Gillett and his team had little to do until Forest had a goal chalked off.

"A Coventry player facing his own goal stumbled and lost possession of the ball before a Forest player scored, but there was clear contact on the ankle of the Coventry player," Hackett said. 

"VAR was correct to send Jarred Gillett to the monitor to take a look at the contact, and Gillett made the correct decision to rule out the goal.

"I would add that the position of the monitor, allowing fans to make disgusting verbal comments whilst the referee is undertaking his review, is unacceptable, and repositioning needs to be considered for future games."

Tottenham at rock bottom

Although Tottenham also opened their account thanks to late goals from Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke against Aston Villa, their opponents had already scored three, and with results elsewhere going against them, the North Londoners have ended the weekend at the bottom of the table.

"Mo Kudus looked to have equalised for Spurs when this game was 1-0 to the Villans, but VAR looked at it, and the correct decision was arrived at - goal disallowed. Well done to John Brooks, who was on VAR duty in this one," Hackett raved.

"Nicolas Jackson was also correctly yellow-carded for not retreating 10 yards at a free-kick."

Newcastle vs Hull City passed by without too much incident at all, with the Magpies and the Tigers both now on the same points (eight) after the hosts' 2-1 victory.

"Aside from Hull keeper Konstantinos Tzolakis and Newcastle's Jacob Murphy both being booked for dissent, and Hull assistant boss Dean Holden being booked in the final few minutes for something he said, there was little for referee Tony Harrington and his team to be concerned with," Hackett suggested.

Manchester derby debacle to blame for Everton offside?

Everton were already 1-0 up against Ipswich thanks to Thierno Barry, when it appeared he'd scored a second. "The one interesting moment for the refereeing team came when the Everton goal was ruled offside," Hackett said.

"Barry's second goal was taken off him because Brennan Johnson was judged to be interfering with play and offside. Last season, however, I do not doubt that this goal would have been allowed, and frankly, I wouldn't have ruled this out.

"I guess the ruling isn't going to be challenged, but I would've liked to have seen it allowed for the good of the game.

"I believe it was chalked off because of the goal being allowed last week in the Manchester derby. This was, in my opinion, a reaction by the referees to getting that decision so wrong.

"The goalkeeper had no chance of saving it; he didn't move, and the flight of the ball wasn't over him, but travelling into the far corner of the net.

"Abdul Fatawu's correct red card when he dived, having already been shown a yellow card earlier, was another great decision by Stuart Attwell."

Great work by Peter Bankes and his team at Craven Cottage

Man Utd needed a late intervention from Matheus Cunha to earn a point at Craven Cottage against a Fulham side that are struggling near the foot of the Premier League table. The match wasn't without controversy, though it seems the refereeing team got things spot on throughout the 90 minutes.

"Fulham wanted a penalty when they thought Harry Maguire had fouled Josh King, but instead the referee, Peter Bankes, yellow-carded King for an act of simulation. He was ideally positioned to see the incident, and it was a good piece of officiating," Hackett agreed.

"Right at the end, United wanted a penalty of their own, suggesting the ball had struck the arm of Calvin Bassey. Nicholas Hopton in the VAR room had a look and decided that although Bassey's arm was up, it was across his chest. No penalty. Correct decision." 

More controversy for Howard Webb to unpack

Plenty of goals for Robert Jones and his officiating team to witness at the Etihad Stadium as Man City ran out 5-3 winners against Sunderland, to preserve their 100% record, and go out on their own as league leaders after Arsenal's defeat earlier in the weekend.

However, their inability to spot a blatant handball from Elliot Anderson will almost certainly require more clarification from Howard Webb as to how this was missed.

"At 2-2, the big talking point was the incident when Anderson clearly pushed the ball away with his hand inside his own penalty area," Hackett said.

"It should have resulted in a penalty kick and a yellow card to the offending player. Where was VAR (Michael Salisbury)? He made a huge error in missing this offence, and Sunderland had every right to be aggrieved."

Adam Herczeg made his refereeing debut in the Leeds United vs Crystal Palace game, and his performance earned him some plaudits, not least from Hackett.

"Leeds' appeal for a penalty after a handball by Tyrick Mitchell was ignored by the official, and that was spot on," he concluded. 

"Referee Herczeg also showed Jayden Bogle the first yellow card of the game, and the player can have few complaints on that one."