Dermot Gallagher: Arsenal deserved a penalty against Hull despite the referee’s decision

Former referee Dermot Gallagher believes Arsenal deserved a penalty against Hull and that not awarding one went against the laws of the game. Arsenal won 1-0 with a second-half goal from Martin Ødegaard, remaining five points clear at the top of the Premier League as the international break began.

The incident came in the first half, with the score at 0-0. Referee Farai Hallam stopped play to review Noble Mendy pulling Kai Havertz’s shirt inside the penalty area. The decision was that Havertz had been fouled and should have been awarded a penalty, but he was offside, so a free kick was given to Hull.

According to Gallagher’s explanation, offside does not apply in this situation because Havertz was not trying to play the ball or challenge an opponent for it when the foul occurred; therefore, under the law, a penalty should have been awarded. Gallagher said he understood the officials’ position, but called for the rules to be amended to avoid confusion between applying the law and what he described as logic or ethical considerations.