Charlton Athletic were left stunned after seeing an early goal chalked off during their impressive 2-0 victory over Leicester City on Saturday.
It proved a miserable afternoon for the Foxes, with the defeat dealing another heavy blow to their faltering Championship campaign. Matters worsened early on when Caleb Okoli was shown a red card after dragging down Miles Leaburn while acting as the last defender, leaving Leicester to battle on with ten men from the 15th minute.
Caretaker boss Andy King could do little from the touchline as Charlton took full advantage. Goals from Sonny Carey and Lyndon Dykes sealed a deserved away win, while Jordan Ayew’s missed penalty in the second half summed up a frustrating and flat display from the hosts.
Controversy arrived shortly after Okoli’s dismissal. Charlton thought they had broken the deadlock when Harry Clarke headed home from a corner just five minutes later. The ball had drifted beyond Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk, who was under only slight pressure from Leaburn, and Clarke’s touch appeared to guide it into the net.
Instead, referee Andrew Kitchen stopped play and the assistant’s flag went up. After a brief pause, the decision appeared to be a free kick to Leicester for a foul on the goalkeeper.
Replays suggested otherwise. Leaburn made minimal contact with Stolarczyk, while any meaningful collision seemed to come from Leicester midfielder Louis Page.
Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett was critical after reviewing the incident. Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “The goalkeeper made a poor attempt to deal with the ball and that error led to Charlton scoring. The referee ruled it out for a supposed foul, but Charlton have every reason to feel hard done by. I even wonder if the assistant was thinking about offside.”
Despite the decision, Charlton regrouped and ultimately ran out comfortable winners, a result that could prove vital in their fight away from the relegation places.
Manager Nathan Jones, who has been under growing pressure in recent weeks, admitted after the match that he was puzzled by the disallowed goal.
“We scored three good goals today,” Jones said. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with the one from the corner, and I am completely baffled as to why it was ruled out.”