Ex-PGMOL chief 'surprised' by missed West Brom sanction after off-the-ball incident vs Leicester
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net.
(Credit: Getty Images / Sky Sports)
Ben Palmer
Sat 27 September 2025 8:00, UK
Keith Hackett was very surprised by a decision made by referee Steve Martin involved Chris Mepham and Julian Carranza.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that
Marti Cifuentes was appointed Leicester boss in the summer, replacing the outgoing Ruud van Nistelrooy, but the former QPR boss’ start to life in charge of the Foxes had been spotty at best, winning just three of his opening six games in charge in the Championship.
And on a cool Friday night at the Hawthorns, the Spaniard’s side once again struggled, this time dropping points to Ryan Mason’s West Brom.
However, things could have been a whole lot worse after Carranza’s moment of madness.
On the hour mark, Leicester‘s summer signing on loan from Feyenoord found himself tangled up with Mepham and after being pushed by the Baggies’ defender, the striker lashed out, shoving the 27-year-old, who then dropped to his haunches..
MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES
Having reviewed footage of the clash between the duo, Hackett told Football Insider exclusively that referee Martin had shown his experience by not sending of the Argentine forward, even after the 25-year-old lashed out at the Welsh defender.
However, the ex-PGMOL chief was left slightly puzzled by the decision not to book Mepham for his role in the incident.
Hackett said: “Referee Steve Martin is one of the most experienced officials operating in the Championship.
“He was the official involved in having to call off the recent Blackburn Rovers game.
“Looking closely at this off-the-ball incident, the referee has done well to view the incident involving Carranza.
“His response did not reach the threshold for violent conduct [and therefore a red card].
“In this situation, I was rather surprised that a yellow card was not shown to Chris Mepham.”
A 1-1 draw between Leicester and West Brom was a fair result on the balance of things, although the home side absolutely should have scored a second in the closing stages before the Foxes scored their equaliser.
Every side that suffers relegation is forced to conduct an overhaul of its squad, thanks to players jumping ship after dropping down a division.
And whilst there are some new faces, the core of Leicester’s team have been a part of the Midlands side for a number of years now.
However, they do not look like a team that has experience playing together and that lack of cohesion resulted in just one shot on target at the Hawthorns on 26 September.
Until they can resolve their chance creation issues, Cifuentes’ side will continue to drop points in games they should be winning.