Ex-Prem whistleblower says Anthony Taylor got it spot on and gave him the thumbs-up for not giving Arsenal's Jack Wilshere a second yellow
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EDEN HAZARD provided the controversial moment of the dramatic London derby after he controversially won Chelsea a penalty at Arsenal.
The Belgian star went down under a challenge from Hector Bellerin inside the area just minutes after the Gunners had taken the lead through Jack Wilshere.
He made no mistake from the spot as he drew his side level before Marcos Alonso fired the Blues ahead – but Bellerin would gain revenge by securing a draw by equalising at the death.
But the decision to award the spot kick was the main talking point from the pulsating clash.
Luckily for SunSport we have an expert to give us his verdict.
Here’s what former Premier League whistleblower Mark Halsey thought:
Chelsea's penalty was a tough call for ref Anthony Taylor.
I can understand why Taylor, who was in an excellent position, gave the spot-kick.
Hector Bellerin caught Eden Hazard and in real time I felt it was the correct decision.
Arsenal defender Bellerin was naive and he gave the referee a decision to make.
Hazard did get caught but I must say the contact was not where the Belgian was holding his ankle.
The contact was on the bottom of his foot.
Hazard made the most of it but it wasn't simulation.
If Hazard stays on his feet then the referee will not award the penalty.
The Chelsea ace made sure Taylor gave the spot-kick and it was clever play.
However, if that was reviewed by VAR they would have gone with the referee.
I also felt Taylor did well by not handing a second caution to Jack Wilshere when he went down under a challenge from Andreas Christiansen.
Taylor saw the incident and played on which was the correct thing to do. He didn't go looking for trouble.
It wasn't simulation or a foul - it was just normal contact.
Not every time a player goes down is simulation.
