Kasper Schmeichel aired issues about Alexandre Lacazette after the Arsenal star slotted a penalty past him earlier this month.
The Gunners recorded a 2-0 win over Leicester City with the Frenchman's penalty doubling their lead on the hour mark. Schmeichel though has left fuming as he felt Lacazette come to a stop during his run up - something that is not permitted. He immediately questioned referee Anthony Taylor but he and the VAR were satisfied no laws were broken.
Stalling in the run up for a spot kick has become increasingly popular. Players have stuttered whilst the likes of Jorginho and Bruno Fernandes have incorporated a jump in an attempt to throw off goalkeepers. Schmeichel though has been determined to make a point following the incident at the Emirates.
According to the Daily Mail the Dane flagged his issues with stuttering run-ups at a recent captains call involving refereeing body PGMOL. Schmeichel was told by PGMOL select group director Adam Gale-Watts that a player can feign during the run-up but not when it is completed, insisting Lacazette's actions were within the laws.
Tottenham ’s Son Heung-min did see a penalty against Rochdale in the FA Cup in 2018 get disallowed to stopping in his run up, but that is very rare. Former top flight ref Mark Halsey backed his colleague regarding the Lacazette penalty and claimed Schmeichel "doesn't know the laws of the game".
He told CaughtOffside : “Feigning in the run-up is permitted. Once you get to the ball, you can’t feign. Feigning once the kicker has completed the run-up, is not permitted, and would be a yellow card. So the Lacazette penalty was correct, by the laws of the game. I remember watching the penalty and Schmeichel was way off his line anyway. Even if there was feigning, he was off his line as well.
Should stuttering run ups be allowed before penalties? Let us know in the comments
“The referee got it right, and we had VAR in place to check these things anyway, but the referee was completely correct in law. That’s the problem we have quite often with players not knowing the laws of the game. On this occasion, Kasper Schmeichel clearly doesn’t know the laws of the game, or at least doesn’t know Law 14 – the penalty kick.”
The Premier League captain calls are a way of players and officials communicating around certain decisions that may have been misinterpreted. Newcastle skipper Jamaal Lascelles aired concerns with the application of certain laws, which were explained one way in pre-season and then awarded differently.
Mike Riley, who heads the group of referees, simply claimed that officials are human and do make mistakes. He was forced to apologise to Everton earlier this month after the referee - and then VAR - failed to give what was deemed a clear penalty as the Toffees lost to Manchester City.
