Referee Roger East had no chance of spotting Abdoulaye Doucoure's handball which earned Watford a 2-2 draw with Southampton at the weekend, according to Sky Sports analyst and former official Dermot Gallagher.

The ex-Premier League ref donned the whistle for 15 years before he retired in 2007, and unsurprisingly felt Doucoure's goal, which denied the Saints a first win in nine, should not have stood.

But he had sympathy with both East and his linesman, who both missed the infringement despite the furious protests of the Southampton defence.

"The referee, I believe, is the victim here because he has no chance whatsoever," he told Sky Sports.

"If you look where the player's head is, he moves his head forward. The only person who can clearly see that that is handball is the goalkeeper.

"When you look at it sideways on, when you see the head go forward you cannot be sure at that distance whether he has headed it or not. The only person who knows is the player himself and obviously the goalkeeper."