Former Premier League referee Chris Foy has said that Southampton were ‘very fortunate’ not to have given away a penalty in the win against Birmingham City.
Saints won 3-1 on Saturday afternoon courtesy of goals from Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Carlos Alcaraz and Adam Armstrong.
However, the game was clouded with controversy after a controversial decision to not award a penalty to Birmingham City after Gavin Bazunu clattered into Blues’ striker Oliver Burke.
Foy on Bazunu decision
Speaking to Sky Sports, Foy said that Bazunu was ‘very fortunate’ not to have given a penalty away.
“I think the Southampton goalkeeper is very fortunate not to have given away a penalty for a foul on the Birmingham City attacker.
“The goalkeeper has come a long way and commits to an aerial challenge, and following a header by the attacking player, makes clear contact with the attacking player. This is a reckless challenge by the goalkeeper that should have resulted in a penalty kick and a yellow card.”
Saints count themselves lucky
This decision is clearly the wrong one, with Bazunu, Russell Martin and Saints counting themselves lucky.
Plenty of people disagree with the decision, with another former Premier league referee in Mike Dean also labelling the decision as ‘embarrassing’.
Bazunu has had a mixed season in goal for Saints, only managing to keep one clean sheet so far in the first 14 games of the season in the Championship.
There have been some bad performances from the Saints defence as a whole, conceding four goals to Leicester City and Norwich City, and conceding five at Sunderland.