Keith Hackett Stunned by 'Shocking' Omar Marmoush Incident in Man City vs Salford City

Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett has expressed outrage over a controversial decision during Manchester City's FA Cup clash against Salford City, where Omar Marmoush's first-half goal was wrongly disallowed despite the forward being clearly onside[1][2].

The incident unfolded in the early stages of the match, with Marmoush—recently linked with a potential summer move to Tottenham—timing his run perfectly to latch onto a through ball and slot home what should have been the opener. However, the linesman's flag interrupted play, prompting a VAR review that ultimately upheld the offside call, leaving City fans and pundits fuming[2].

"Shocking. Marmoush was clearly onside. This is the kind of error that undermines the integrity of the game," Hackett told Football Insider. "The assistant referee and VAR team got this catastrophically wrong—it's unacceptable at this level."[1]

Hackett, a respected voice in refereeing circles, highlighted the positioning of the last Salford defender, insisting replays showed Marmoush was level or even marginally onside. He called for immediate post-match analysis and potential retraining for officials involved, drawing parallels to recent VAR controversies like homophobic chanting incidents in other FA Cup ties[1].

Man City went on to secure a comfortable victory despite the setback, but Hackett warned that such blunders could have VAR consequences in tighter encounters. Marmoush, thriving on loan at City from Eintracht Frankfurt, now faces increased scrutiny amid transfer speculation, with Tottenham reportedly accelerating interest due to injury concerns in their attack[2].

The ex-referee's intervention reignites debates on technology's role in football, urging the FA to address persistent onside misjudgments. (Word count: 298)