“A really poor decision” – BBC pundit believes referee Anthony Taylor made a mistake during Southampton vs Leicester City clash

Former Premier League striker and BBC pundit Alan Shearer has slammed the officiating during the Southampton vs Leicester City game on Saturday. 

The game was a 5 goal thriller which saw Leicester come back from 2 goals down to win 3-2. Cameron Archer gave the Saints the lead inside 10 minutes, before Joe Aribo made it 2-0 just around the 30-minute mark.

Facundo Buonanotte got the Foxes back into the game in the second half and ten minutes later, they were awarded a penalty after Ryan Fraser fouled Vardy, which the VAR thought was denying a goal-scoring opportunity. Fraser got sent off and the Leicester striker, who could retire at the end of this season, buried the penalty to make it 2-2.

Leicester City completed the turnaround right at the death, with Jordan Ayew scoring the winner in the 98th minute of the game.

Alan Shearer slams Anthony Taylor’s officiating during Southampton vs Leicester City

Alan Shearer criticised the officiating during the game, suggesting that Saints should have been awarded a penalty as well.

The incident in question was when Paul Onuachu was appeared to be fouled by the Leicester player, who held on to him for several seconds. Shearer did not hold back of his criticism of Anthony Taylor’s decision.

When asked on MOTD if Saints should have had a penalty, he said (as quoted by Daily Echo):

“Absolutely…the word we’re hearing is Anthony Taylor saw the holding, but it was with no consequence.”

“It was deemed he was not impacting play. He’s got hold of him for about five seconds, which means he has to be impacting play. There has to be a consequence.”

“If he’s not holding him there’s every chance he’s going to challenge for that ball, he may even get there before the keeper. I think that’s a really poor decision by the referee and VAR.”

Jamie Vardy celebrating Leicester City’s goal vs Southampton. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

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Southampton have made a poor start to the season. They are yet to win a game, having lost 7 and drawn 1. They currently sit 19th in the table, with just 1 point.

Manager Russel Martin’s future at the club is uncertain, as pressure mounts on. Recent weeks haave seen several managers get linked with the Saints job, including former Brighton and Chelsea manager Graham Potter.