Sports
Officials Got Major Decision Wrong in Arsenal 2-1 Wolves
It wasn’t as routine as Mikel Arteta and his entourage would’ve hoped as title-chasing Arsenal beat relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers with two own goals on Saturday evening at the Emirates Stadium – and it was in the 94th minute when they secured all three points. Ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett, however, claims a major refereeing decision was incorrect.
In what was expected to be a simple night at the office, Arsenal managed to find a breakthrough in the 70th minute after an hour of pushing and prodding. Bukayo Saka‘s corner was whipped in, it hit the post and then bounced off the back of a diving Sam Johnstone, who inadvertently turned the ball into his own net to allow Arsenal to take the lead.
Wolves substitute Tolu Arokodare thought he had scored the equaliser in the early embers of added time after beating Piero Hincapie in the air and nodding home past Arsenal shot stopper David Raya. Four minutes later, though, the Londoners had regained their one-goal lead over the Premier League‘s basement club – this time thanks to a Yerson Mosquera own goal.
Hackett Provides Verdict on Major Wrong Decision in Arsenal’s 2-1 Win Over Wolves
Back to the matter at hand and Hwang Hee-chan – who was, arguably, the away side’s biggest threat with his relentless running and pace on the counter – could somewhat count himself lucky after walking away with just a yellow card for his challenge on Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly. Ultimately, it had no bearing on the result as Arteta’s men still ran out triumphant.
As Arsenal began to get a stronghold on the Emirates Stadium-based affair, Hwang went recklessly into a challenge on Lewis-Skelly with his studs up. He caught the teenager on the ankle and referee Robert Jones decided a yellow card was the correct decision; a quick look from those manning VAR also decided the non-sending off made sense. On that call, Hackett said:
“When you look at this challenge, there is no doubt that this player has fulfilled the excessive force requirement [for a red card],” Hackett said, per Football Insider. “He enters the challenge at pace with a straight leg, studs showing, and whilst low, is still endangering the safety of an opponent. The player was off the ground and, therefore, could not stop or change direction.
“I have no doubt that the excuse will be that ‘we stuck with yellow because the challenge was low down’, but for me, there’s an element of malice in the challenge. It should have been red.”
For what it’s worth, the Premier League Match Centre took to X (formerly Twitter) following VAR’s decision to uphold Jones’ initial call. “The referee’s call of yellow card was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Hwang deemed to be pulling out of the challenge on Lewis-Skelly and the contact on the foot deemed to be a reckless foul,” they wrote to clear up any confusion.
‘All The Criteria’ – Mark Clattenburg Agrees With Hackett’s Verdict
No doubt serious foul play, Jones’ decision to allow Hwang to stay on the pitch had very little influence on the outcome of the Premier League encounter – but the South Korea international was Wolves’ livewire: he worked well in a two-man striker partnership with Jorgen Strand Larsen and had a huge chance in the first half. His solitary shot was on target.
Mark Clattenburg has also spoken out about Hwang avoiding the wrath of a red card, and he agreed with the post-match assessment of Hackett. “It’s got speed, force and malice as Hee-chan’s foot is high and studs are showing, which hits his opponent’s leg,” he said.
“This can clearly endanger the safety of his opponent. If Hee-chan wanted to avoid the contact, then he could have lowered and turned his foot to reduce the studs and impact point on the leg.
“This is another example of the VAR frustration in the Premier League, where decisions are not consistent on a match-by-match basis,” Clattenburg – one of the best referees in the history of the English top flight post-1992 – concluded, per Arsenal Insider. Arsenal travel to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in search of three points next weekend while Wolves host London outfit Brentford.
Jon Jones has come across many of the hardest hitters in UFC history. However, there is one man whose power bothered ‘Bones‘ more than the rest.
The 37-year-old, recognised as one of MMA’s all-time greats, built an illustrious career. After dominating the record books with UFC title wins (16) and being one of only a handful of fighters in history to hold world championships in two different weight classes, Jones has proven himself against some of the sport’s biggest names in their respective eras, including Daniel Cormier, Stipe Miocic, and Rampage Jackson.
Following two spells as the light heavyweight champion – from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2018 to 2020 – Jones moved up to the heavyweight division in 2023, claiming the gold with a victory over Ciryl Gane and later defending the title against Miocic.
Jones’ only UFC loss came via a controversial disqualification loss – and he has never been knocked out in his career. According to the man himself, though, that almost wasn’t the case.
Jon Jones Admits He Was Almost Knocked Out By Overhand Right
“The hardest punch I ever received was from a guy named Suga Rashad Evans,” he said via talkSPORT.
“He caught me with an overhand right, the same exact punch he hit Chuck Liddell with and dropped him, he caught me with that same punch.
Dustin Poirier Named Hardest Hitter He Faced During UFC Career
Dustin Poirier once revealed who punched him the hardest during his UFC career, which came to an end at UFC 318.
“It wasn’t that he hit me so hard, it was the speed of the punch. It was almost like, you can tighten up, or you can just let your arm be loose and let it swing. It’s kind of like an overhand slap, bro, he hit me so fast, and I had no clue what it was.
“He just caught me right at the edge of my chin and I remember my feet were to a point where I couldn’t control my legs. Then I refocused, and I was able to stand again, but, bro, that was by far the fastest I’ve ever been hit. And thank God I didn’t become unconscious because I probably should have been.”
Before the pair clashed for Jones’ light heavyweight title at UFC 145 in April 2012, the champion and Evans had shared a close relationship as training partners at Jackson Wink MMA. Evans even mentored a young Jones as he broke into the UFC limelight. However, tensions arose after Evans had left the gym in pursuit of establishing his own Blackzilians training centre in Florida in 2011.
The bitterness between the two further developed a year later as they would battle it out in the Octagon just a few short months later. Despite being staggered by Evans’ thunderous overhand right swing, Jones went on to dominate the rest of the fight, securing a unanimous decision victory and retaining his title.
Jon Jones has come across many of the hardest hitters in UFC history. However, there is one man whose power bothered ‘Bones‘ more than the rest.
The 37-year-old, recognised as one of MMA’s all-time greats, built an illustrious career. After dominating the record books with UFC title wins (16) and being one of only a handful of fighters in history to hold world championships in two different weight classes, Jones has proven himself against some of the sport’s biggest names in their respective eras, including Daniel Cormier, Stipe Miocic, and Rampage Jackson.
Following two spells as the light heavyweight champion – from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2018 to 2020 – Jones moved up to the heavyweight division in 2023, claiming the gold with a victory over Ciryl Gane and later defending the title against Miocic.
Jones’ only UFC loss came via a controversial disqualification loss – and he has never been knocked out in his career. According to the man himself, though, that almost wasn’t the case.
Jon Jones Admits He Was Almost Knocked Out By Overhand Right
“The hardest punch I ever received was from a guy named Suga Rashad Evans,” he said via talkSPORT.
“He caught me with an overhand right, the same exact punch he hit Chuck Liddell with and dropped him, he caught me with that same punch.
Dustin Poirier Named Hardest Hitter He Faced During UFC Career
Dustin Poirier once revealed who punched him the hardest during his UFC career, which came to an end at UFC 318.
“It wasn’t that he hit me so hard, it was the speed of the punch. It was almost like, you can tighten up, or you can just let your arm be loose and let it swing. It’s kind of like an overhand slap, bro, he hit me so fast, and I had no clue what it was.
“He just caught me right at the edge of my chin and I remember my feet were to a point where I couldn’t control my legs. Then I refocused, and I was able to stand again, but, bro, that was by far the fastest I’ve ever been hit. And thank God I didn’t become unconscious because I probably should have been.”
Before the pair clashed for Jones’ light heavyweight title at UFC 145 in April 2012, the champion and Evans had shared a close relationship as training partners at Jackson Wink MMA. Evans even mentored a young Jones as he broke into the UFC limelight. However, tensions arose after Evans had left the gym in pursuit of establishing his own Blackzilians training centre in Florida in 2011.
The bitterness between the two further developed a year later as they would battle it out in the Octagon just a few short months later. Despite being staggered by Evans’ thunderous overhand right swing, Jones went on to dominate the rest of the fight, securing a unanimous decision victory and retaining his title.
A BBC actress has come under fire for comments she made about Nigeria goalkeeper Maduka Okoye during an appearance on ITV on Tuesday night. Sarah Hadland sparked a social media backlash after openly admiring the Super Eagles shot-stopper while appearing on the programme.
The 55-year-old Miranda star joined Stephen Mangan and Ardal O’Hanlon to promote their West End play The Truth, but the conversation soon turned to international football and this summer’s World Cup.
Nigeria will not be taking part in the tournament, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Super Eagles narrowly missed out on qualification, finishing one point behind South Africa in their group and denying fans the chance to see their famously popular kits on football’s biggest stage.
When asked about watching the tournament, Hadland became visibly flustered, declaring: “I will be watching now I’ve seen the Nigerian goalkeeper. Have you seen him?! Wowee, thank you very much!” She continued (watch the full segment below):
“I mean, he’s absolutely gorgeous. I don’t care if he can do Shakespeare. Looking lovely in a tight top, thank you.”
One of the presenters pointed out that they’d “hate to objectify a man,” but everyone in the studio had quickly glossed over the comments with a laugh. Criticism has come thick and fast on social media, though.
“There are some people who should just be kept off TV,” one X user reacted to Hadland’s comments, “it’s not okay to talk like this about a man, woman, etc.” Elsewhere, another remarked:
“Imagine a man talking about a female sports person like this, he would be cancelled. This is double standards, and the other people on the show should have called this out.”
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A third added: “Double standards everywhere you turn,” while a fourth wrote: “If this was a man speaking about a female, he would lose his job and be forced to apologise.”
A fifth also concluded: “Indicative that this hasn’t been condemned by any leading media or broadcasters. If this was a man talking about a woman, there’d be all manner of anger and fume. Ridiculous hypocrisy.”
Jon Jones Names UFC Opponent Who Hit Him the Hardest
Jon Jones Names UFC Opponent Who Hit Him the Hardest
Sarah Hadland Slammed For Nigeria Goalkeeper Maduka Okoye Comments
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