The former PGMOL chief did not hedge. “That says to me, next week if I was doing the appointments, he ain’t got a game,” Hackett told Football Insider in an exclusive column, after watching Madley preside over a match Arsenal won through Kai Havertz’s first-half finish, their first league victory at Anfield in 14 years.
The flashpoint sat in the second half. Just inside the box, Jurrien Timber grabbed Alexander Isak’s shirt as a ball dropped between them. The on-field call was no foul and VAR did not intervene. Writing for Football365, Hackett said “the Arsenal man had a fistful of the top” and that “this was a clear offence and Liverpool should have had a penalty kick”, adding that Timber should have been shown a straight red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Tunnel footage adds to the noise
Broadcast cameras then caught Madley exchanging a smile and a fist bump with Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães as the sides waited for the second half to begin, with the referee heard to say “Gabriel, be careful, yeah? You have already got two fouls.” The clip, circulated by Empire of the Kop and picked up widely, has done little to calm Liverpool supporters.
Hackett’s wider verdict went beyond one decision. Speaking to Football Insider, he also criticised a late-game flashpoint between Alexis Mac Allister and Noni Madueke that saw the Liverpool midfielder drop after minimal contact, and said the behaviour was “tarnishing the image of the Premier League”. He argued that waving away holding offences in the box encourages players to seek contact and go down in search of a decision.
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An earlier challenge from Liverpool’s Trey Nyoni went unpunished in the opening exchanges, and Cody Gakpo was pulled to the floor at a corner without a penalty being awarded.
Madley’s next appointment
Madley has not been publicly disciplined. PGMOL publishes its referee appointments on the Monday of each matchweek, so Webb’s call on whether to hand Madley a top-flight game at the next round of fixtures is due out on Monday.
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