Ex-Premier League referee comments on Henri Lansbury incident against Swansea City | OneFootball

Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett has admitted he was “amazed” by an incident involving Henri Lansbury and Ryan Manning on Saturday, as Luton Town and Swansea City played out a 3-3 draw.

Manning, who prevented Luton from taking a quick free-kick, found himself on the receiving end of Lansbury’s right forceful boot.

Both players were eventually booked for the roles they played, with the incident then appearing on social media, with contrasting views about the outcome.

Are these 22 Luton Town stats real or fake?

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Luton scored in their first five games in all competitions this season.

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Hackett weighed in with his opinion, during an interview with Football Insider, stating his amazement that Lansbury was not sent his marching orders: “This is a straight red, every day, any day. When you look decisions like this, you’d say what was the referee doing?

“Any new referee needs to understand the first thing you do when you award a free-kick is manage the position of the ball.

“The second one is for the defending wall to be back the 9.15 metres of distance. What I have to say is where was the referee in managing the restart? Non-existent.

“You’re allowing the player to be hovering around. The player taking the kick wipes him out.

“It’s a deliberate kick at an opponent. There’s no way that’s yellow.

“Personally, I think the Football Association should be in a position to upgrade (it to a red card). I would hope the FA look at this one.”

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The verdict

It is an incident that has done the rounds on social media, and whilst there are some strong opinions on the decision, as displayed above, the videos that have gone around show a lot more than Harrington was able to see.

It would have been no surprise if Lansbury would have seen red, but the 30-year-old helped set up a goal from around the same position against Barnsley earlier on in the season, showing that there was at least some intent to get play resumed.

It remains to be seen if the FA investigates the incident and if Lansbury will face any disciplinary action.