Keith Hackett believes that in his era of refereeing, West Ham United's penalty against Charlton Athletic would've been retaken.
Saturday turned out to be a disastrous way for West Ham to make their home debut in the 2026-27 Championship season.
A 2-1 defeat to London rivals Charlton Athletic is set to pile considerable pressure on manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
The big flashpoint of the match came in added time at the end, when Taty Castellanos struck the post with a penalty kick that would've earned the Hammers a point.
It wasn't the miss, however, that was the big talking point to emerge from that moment in the game.
Rather, it was the fact Charlton looked to have committed an obvious encroachment foul as Castellanos was taking his spot kick.
Why Andrew Kitchen was right to award West Ham penalty
The Castellanos penalty miss summed up West Ham's start to the new season.
It was yet another missed opportunity for the Hammers, after throwing away a two-goal lead against Burnley on opening weekend.
Former West Ham talent Conor Coventry was the guilty party, with his outstretched arm blocking a goalward-bound shot inside the Addicks' box.
Hackett, an ex-FIFA referee, exclusively told West Ham Zone that referee Andrew Kitchen did at least get the original penalty decision right on Saturday.
"Referee Andrew Kitchen is in a good position to accurately judge that the defender has committed a handball offence and leaves the referee with an easy decision to award a penalty kick," he said.
But, when it comes to what happened after that, Hackett has offered a double-edged verdict on whether or not the Hammers' should've had the penalty retaken.
Taty Castellanos accused of cheating vs Charlton, Nuno Espirito Santo urged to hold talks with West Ham striker What is the law Kitchen applied to justify no West Ham penalty retake?
Given how egregious the encroachment was from Charlton, many West Ham fans are understandably shocked as to why the penalty wasn't taken again.
