By Keith Hackett

20th May, 2023 | 9:30am

Ex-Fifa official savages Andy Madley as huge Gabriel Martinelli blow revealed at Arsenal

Keith Hackett has insisted referee Andy Madley “let the occasion get to him” after his questionable performance in Brighton’s win over Arsenal on Sunday (14 May).

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee claimed Madley lost the respect of the players when he failed to book Gabriel Martinelli for a “reckless” challenge on Kaoru Mitoma in the opening minutes.

Martinelli was later on the receiving end of a retaliatory tackle from Brighton’s Moises Caicedo – which also went unpunished.

According to The Athletic (17 May), Martinelli is now set to miss the final two games of the Premier League season with ankle ligament damage.

Brighton’s 3-0 win over Arsenal means Man City can win the Premier League title with victory over Chelsea on Sunday (21 May).

Madley is relatively new to Premier League officiating, having only been promoted to Select Group 1 in 2019.

Hackett told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “I think the occasion got to Andy Madley, the referee.

“Gabriel Martinelli should have had a yellow card, right at the start of the game. It was reckless, so it needed a sanction.

“He waved that aside, and that was wrong. VAR can’t come in, because it’s reckless.

“Then we have the retaliation minutes later, which was also a yellow card.

“It set the tone for the whole game when he didn’t book Martinelli.

“He will learn from it. He wanted to let the game flow because of the occasion – and it got around his neck.

“He didn’t have the respect of the players after that. Madley was left a bit wanting in what was probably his biggest game to date.”

In other news, Arsenal swoop for Premier League star after talks collapse.