Leicester City defender 'lucky' to escape red card against Arsenal

Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett has claimed Leicester City centre-back Caglar Soyuncu was "lucky" not to be sent off against Arsenal last weekend.

The 25-year-old gave away a penalty after the player's hand made contact with a goalbound effort off the head of Gunners midfielder Thomas Partey before City teammate Luke Thomas cleared off the line.

No decision was initially made but, after being advised by video assistant referee Darren English, the on-field referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot following a VAR review on the pitch-side monitor.

Arsenal captain Alexandre Lacazette converted from the spot the double the hosts' lead on the hour mark.

The Turkey international was shown a yellow card after the incident, having been adjudged to have handled the header, but Hackett believes Soyuncu 's 20-year-old teammate saved the side from going down to ten men in the capital.

“Soyuncu was lucky that Thomas was behind him," Hackett told Football Insider.

“I’m going with the referee on this one. I am not red carding him.

“If you watch it closely, Thomas is on the cover and clears it off the line. It is for that reason that it’s not a red card. The covering defender saves him. That is the nonsense of it.

Hackett continued to explain the official's decision making.

“What the referee has to ask himself is, ‘Did that handball deny a goal?’ In this case, it didn’t because the defender kicked it after a slight touch from Soyuncu.

“I thought that was really good use of VAR. Darren England did really well coming in, because first time round, I did not see that.”

City manager Brendan Rodgers believed the decision to award a penalty was "harsh" and "hugely frustrating" when speaking at the post-match press