Farai Hallam makes a ‘brave’ call to deny Manchester City a penalty kick against Wolverhampton

Making his Premier League debut against Manchester City would be difficult for anyone – even as a referee.

But 32-year-old Farai Hallam, who was a professional footballer on Stevenage’s books, won widespread praise for his performance during City’s 2-0 win over Wolves at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

With the home team leading 1-0 at half-time, top scorer Omar Marmoush was convinced that the home team should be awarded a penalty kick after Wanderers defender Yersun Mosquera appeared to handle the ball inside the area.

Hallam was unimpressed, waved off the appeals and was then sent to the pitch monitor by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to investigate the incident.

We all know what that usually means. City fans were already celebrating.

After watching numerous replays, Hallam surprised almost everyone on the field by choosing to stick with his original decision.

He announced over the loudspeaker: “After review, the ball hit the arm of the Wolverhampton player, and he is in his normal position, so the decision on the field will remain.”

Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cane said it was “undoubtedly the right decision”.

“Hallam, who was officiating his first Premier League match, made an excellent and brave decision to stick to his decision on the pitch not to handle the ball with his hands,” Kahn told BBC Sport.

“This was undoubtedly the right decision because Yerson Mosquera’s arm was in a justified position and the ball was played on his arm from very close range.

“A brave and correct legal decision from a highly regarded referee on his Premier League debut.”