Ex-PGMOL chief backs Gary Neville and rips into Chris Kavanagh over Man United-Fulham controversy
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Harri Burton
Mon 25 August 2025 17:28, UK
Chris Kavanagh was wrong to make Calvin Bassey leave the field after going down injured during Fulham versus Man United, according to Keith Hackett.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that Gary Neville was right to question the referee’s actions after the defender was caught by Bryan Mbeumo at Craven Cottage.
Just seven minutes into the game on Sunday, 24 August, Bassey, who was also clearly pushed by Leny Yoro for United’s opener, ended up on the ground after contact to the eye from Mbeumo.
Once the 27-year-old had time to recover without the medics, he was forced to leave the field for 30 seconds, a rule implemented by the Premier League following a head injury to discourage time-wasting.
This article contains exclusive comments from ex-PGMOL chief, FIFA official and former professional referee Keith Hackett.
Neville slammed the incident as “absolute nonsense” before the match got back underway, with Bassey’s injury forcing Alex Iwobi to slot back into the left-back position and Ryan Sessegnon to centre-back.
Had Ruben Amorim‘s side scored in those 30 seconds, the majority of Craven Cottage would have been up in arms, even though it was very clear that Bassey was seriously hurt in that moment.
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Kavanagh was also slammed for bumping Bruno Fernandes before taking his penalty, which sailed over the crossbar, with the midfielder handed the chance to score from a spot-kick, which should not have been awarded.
Hackett has since agreed with the United legend, going as far as to criticise the official’s decision-making during the game, having had to deal with multiple controversial moments.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “It was a total accident.
There’s no way that the player was simulating – he’d been caught.
To overcome this problem that they’ve now set themselves, the referee should have brought the medics on.
Chris Kavanagh’s refereeing performance of Fulham vs Man United was heavily criticised.
(Credit: Getty Images)
“I don’t think it was a good piece of refereeing.
I don’t think the player has attempted to waste time, but if you think the player is doing that, delaying the restart, give him a yellow card.
“It was all a bit of nonsense and unnecessary, so I’m with Gary Neville.
It’s a referee not applying common sense, and not seeing the incident in the same way as either of us.”
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