Former Referee Dermot Gallagher Explains Why Cardiff Weren't Awarded a Penalty Against Huddersfield

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has backed Michael Oliver's decision to send off Jonathon Hogg during Huddersfield's clash with Cardiff, also explaining why a penalty wasn't awarded.

With the game poised at 0-0, Hogg was dismissed midway through the second half for violet conduct after clashing with Cardiff's Harry Arter. 

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After a small altercation between the pair, Hogg pushed Arter to the ground whilst lowering his head, which led to his immediate dismissal from proceedings.

There was a slight air of controversy surrounding the decision considering Arter escaped with just a booking, but Gallagher was full of praise for Oliver's decision making.

"I think the referee does really, really well here," Gallagher declared in his Sky Sports column. 

"The referee Michael Oliver hasn't rushed the decision, he's gone to get some information from his assistant Simon Bennett and collected the full pot.

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"In that, Simon has said to him 'Arter is guilty of the first foul, it's a yellow card offence, he's provoked the guy into doing that'. But without a doubt, Hogg just loses discipline and he gets a red card for violent conduct."

The other question that the incident raised was why Cardiff were not given a penalty following Hogg's sending off. 

Instead, Huddersfield were provided with a free kick, which certainly caused some confusion. Gallagher went on to clarify why the decision was made not to award Cardiff with a penalty.

He added: "The game restarts with a free kick to Huddersfield, which is correct because it can't be a penalty as the first foul was committed by Arter."

The draw leaves Huddersfield 19th in the Premier League table, while Cardiff after 15th despite failing to score a single goal in their opening three matches.