'VAR' - Refereeing expert issues verdict on Nottingham Forest penalty appeal

Former FIFA and UEFA referee Keith Hackett has given his verdict on the penalty Nottingham Forest were denied in their goalless draw against Preston North End on Tuesday.

Striker Keinan Davis went down under a challenge from Sepp Van Den Berg, triggering huge appeals for a spot-kick from the Forest players, but referee Geoff Eltringham allowed play to continue.

After the game, Forest boss Steve Cooper said: “Keinan has turned, he’s in the box, he’s an attacker, he’s a goal scorer, he’s a finisher, why would he go down?

“There’s been a lot of them this year.

“They say it evens out, but we’re going to have to have a lot of penalties between now and the end of the season.”

And former referees’ chief Hackett has agreed with Cooper's assessment of the incident, saying a spot-kick would have been awarded had VAR been used in the Championship.

“He’s lucky,” Hackett told Football Insider as he assessed Van Den Berg’s challenge.

“I think he’s fortunate that VAR is not in operation. The position of the referee is superb.

“Geoff Eltringham is a very good referee, I rate him as a referee, and he’s been unlucky not to get into the Premier League.

“But he’s missed one, and we would see it more clearly with VAR. He’s not got full clarity on this, he’s not got an ideal view.

“The defender has stuck his leg out and has clipped him. It’s a penalty.

“It’s on the line of the box, so it’s a penalty kick.”