Ex-refs chief blasts Darren England 'error' after Erling Haaland penalty controversy vs Nottingham Forest

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Credit: Sky Sports Ex-refs chief blasts Darren England ‘error’ after analysing controversial Erling Haaland footage vs Nottingham Forest Thu 5 March 2026 14:33, UK Keith Hackett has insisted that Manchester City should have been awarded a penalty against Nottingham Forest for Matz Sels’ challenge on Erling Haaland.The former PGMOL chief and FIFA referee has exclusively told Football Insider that referee Darren England and VAR official Tony Harrington were both at fault for failing to award Man City a spot-kick after the foul on Haaland.Pep Guardiola’s side dropped valuable points in the title race at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday as Forest held them to a 2-2 draw.Antoine Semenyo gave them the lead at the break before Morgan Gibbs-White hit back, with Rodri’s header then being cancelled out by a fine strike from City target Elliot Anderson.City are now seven points behind Arsenal in the battle for Premier League silverware, but felt as if they should have had the chance to extend their lead to 3-1 before drawing to Forest. ⚽ Man City Matchday ⚽ Team news, line-ups, tactical previews and expert breakdowns for every Manchester City fixture. VISIT THE MATCH HUB MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES Keith Hackett fumes as Man City denied penalty despite ‘clear contact’ on Erling HaalandHaaland broke past the Forest defence in the 71st minute and looked to have been taken down by goalkeeper Sels inside the area, but match referee England was unmoved by his penalty claims.Replays showed that the Belgian stopper’s head did catch the striker’s right knee before he went to ground, yet VAR official Harrington also decided against recommending an on-field review of the incident.Speaking to Football Insider, ex-refereeing chief Hackett blasted both officials for their hesitation and poor decision-making, as City deserved of a spot kick in his eyes.He said: “Manchester City can feel aggrieved that they were not awarded a penalty kick when Haaland was brought down to the ground by the Forest goalkeeper.“Clear hesitation from the referee and VAR waiting for each other.

Referee England and VAR Harrington doing nothing. "It's 100% a penalty, even the keeper knows!" 👀Jay Bothroyd was left bemused that Manchester City were not awarded a penalty in their 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest following a coming together between Erling Haaland and Matz Sels 💬 pic.twitter.com/NSTS0itLzS— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 5, 2026 View Tweet “This was a foul, there was clear contact.

I am not worried about the direction of the ball. The foul contact was made whilst the ball was in play.”Hackett thinks England made the right penalty call after Anderson tackle on RodriCity were pushing for a late winner towards the end of Wednesday’s clash, and there were shouts for a penalty after Forest midfielder Anderson appeared to catch Rodri in the area.Referee England again ignored the hosts’ protests, and even though he got the Haaland call wrong, Hackett said that the tackle on Rodri was not a penalty, and the official was right to play on.Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “I am satisfied that the match official, Darren England, has made the correct call.