Keith Hackett slams Andy Madley over Xavi Simons incident in Tottenham win vs Doncaster
Xavi Simons was back in Thomas Frank’s starting line-up as Tottenham beat Doncaster in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Spurs progressed to the last-16 of the competition with a 3-0 victory over the League One side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, thanks to a stunning overhead kick by Joao Palhinha and an own goal by Jay McGrath.
Simons‘ corner led to Palhinha’s goal in a strong playmaker’s performance in Tottenham’s Carabao Cup win over Doncaster, before he was substituted off and replaced by Lucas Bergvall in the 61st minute.
However, according to former PGMOL general manager Keith Hackett, some of the talking points about Simons’ performance weren’t ones to be proud of.
This article contains the exclusive opinion of former Premier League and FIFA-listed referee Keith Hackett.
Xavi Simons guilty of trying to deceive referee in Tottenham win over Doncaster
Simons was a £51million arrival from RB Leipzig in the summer, but that didn’t stop him from trying to buy a penalty against a third-tier side in England.
In the 41st minute, Simons went down on the edge of Doncaster’s penalty area after trying to latch onto a long ball forward from Rodrigo Bentacur.
The 22-year-old Netherlands international could have got himself in on goal from Bentancur’s exquisite pass. However, instead, he allowed the ball to bounce and seemed to feign contact from Doncaster’s Tom Nixon.
| Sofascore rating | 7.1 |
| Minutes played | 61′ |
| Touches | 44 |
| Accurate passes | 29/30 (97%) |
| Key passes | 7 |
| Crosses (accurate) | 4 (2) |
| Long balls (accurate) | 1 (1) |
| Big chances created | 1 |
Andy Madley ignored Simons’ appeals for a foul and while Hackett agreed with the Huddersfield-born referee’s initial decisions, he believes he should have booked the Dutch ace for simulation.
“Madley is in a good position to make a decision on the coming together of the two players,” Hackett told Tottenham News.
“The forward in possession of the ball fractionally changes pace, causing contact and he then goes to ground.
“Madley waves away appeals for a penalty kick, and I will support his decision. However, he then failed to take any action.
“If it was not a penalty kick, then it had to be an act of simulation and a yellow card should have been shown.
“If referees are going to ignore simulation, then the cancer in the game will continue to grow.”
- Read more: Tottenham fans outraged by ‘horrible’, ‘awful’ Mathys Tel moment in first half vs Doncaster
Xavi Simons guilty of second offence within days
Unfortunately, this is the second time in two games where Hackett has had to talk about Simons’ behaviour on the pitch.
Speaking to Football Insider at the weekend, Hackett hit out at Simons for “cheating” in their 2-2 draw against Brighton when the former Paris Saint-Germain player threw himself to the deck while battling with Diego Coppola.
“I’m surprised that Chris Kavanagh has not cautioned that player for an act of simulation. That’s a clear act of simulation,” said Hackett.
- Simons made his fourth Tottenham appearance against Doncaster
- He’s yet to score but grabbed an assist on his debut in the 3-0 win over West Ham on 13 September
- Spurs have won each of the three games Simons has started since arriving from RB Leizpig
“He’s attempted to win a penalty, and it’s that type of incident where you’ve got clarity, no tangling of legs, and he goes to ground. It’s a yellow card. If referees don’t see these and caution them, players will continue to take advantage of these incidents.
“I’d like to see an addition to VAR intervention on a yellow card. It should be an automatic yellow card. If we want to keep the game on the right footings, sportsmanship needs to come into the foundations.
“Cheating has no place in the game. What is it if it’s not cheating? It’s very clear. It reinforces the referee’s decision not to award a penalty, but we see this a lot.”
Thomas Frank no doubt needs to have a chat with Simons.
He’s an incredible talent and the last thing Tottenham fans will want is to see him get a reputation for himself, accumulate yellow cards through simulation and get suspended for vital games.
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