Ex-PL official calls on Howard Webb to change rules after Wolves vs Sunderland controversy
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Credit: Imago, BBC Mon 4 May 2026 16:15, UK Howard Webb has been told to adjust PGMOL’s violent conduct rules after Dan Ballard was sent off for grabbing Tolu Arokodare’s hair as Wolves drew with Sunderland on Saturday. Ballard became the third Premier League player to be sent off for pulling an opponent down by their hair this season at Molineux during the 1-1 draw.The Sunderland defender was challenging for a long ball with Arokodare before the Wolves striker went down and Paul Tierney subsequently brandished a red card.Hair-pulling is treated as an act of violent conduct by PGMOL as it stands, with it falling under the ‘brutality’ element of their interpretation of the ruling.Ballard’s impressive season looks to be over, as he is set to be banned for Sunderland’s final three games against Man United, Everton and Chelsea.Keith Hackett urges PGMOL to add subjectivity to hair-pulling offencesLisandro Martinez and Michael Keane are the other two Premier League players to have been sent off for a similar offence so far this season.
MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES Fans have questioned the consistency of the decisions, though, after Dominic Calvert-Lewin avoided red for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair in Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final win over Leeds last weekend.Appearances29Goals2Clean sheets6Duels won per 907.04Fouls committed per 901.22Clearances per 907.75Yellow cards4Ballard’s 2025-26 PL statsHackett slammed Jarred Gillett, while speaking exclusively to Football Insider, for his failure to send the Leeds striker off.The former refereeing chief has now urged the governing body to change the laws around any hair pull resulting in a red card, or at the very least, fully clarify what the current rules include before next season starts.Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, he said: “I think, in football, we should use the word violent sparingly. I think it’s in the extreme at the moment.
It’s in the extreme and it’s inconsistent. “If they come out again and reinforce that any contact with the hair, with the hand, is a red card offence, clarify that to the fans, clarify that to every member of the staff in clubs, and then the clubs to tell the players.”What has Regis Le Bris said about Ballard’s sending off?Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart each insisted live on Match of the Day that Ballard was unlucky to receive his marching orders for little more than a grab on Arokodare’s hair, with the decision branded “ridiculous.”Sunderland’s failure to win dented their hopes of European qualification, as manager Le Bris fumed at the red card in his post-match interview.He said: “The execution of the rule is very hard to digest because I don’t think it is intentional and violent conduct.“We don’t want to be controversial, we are here to help the game, many people are watching the Premier League and we want to be clean in our behaviours, but football is football.