Sussex

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

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The decision not to award a penalty for handball against Lewis Dunk in Manchester City's 1-0 defeat by Brighton has been narrowly supported by the Premier League's Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel.

The five members of the panel voted 3-2 to back the decision of on-field referee Craig Pawson and video assistant referee John Brooks.

Brighton had taken the lead at the Etihad through Yasin Ayari's goal in the 11th minute.

In first-half stoppage time as City looked for an equaliser, the ball came off both of Dunk's arms inside the penalty area.

The majority view of the KMI Panel was that "the ball struck Dunk on the thigh/arm before hitting his opposite arm, with his arms down by his side".

But two panellists felt Dunk "had enough time to reposition his arms given the distance the ball travelled", while adding that they "considered this a punishable handball".

Former Bromley boss Andy Woodman joins Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff in the latest episode of the 72+ podcast. He lifts the lid on life after leaving Bromley and what's next for him.

They discuss the top of the Championship, with just one point separating the top five.

At the other end of the Championship, what's happening with Bristol City, who currently lie 17th in the league under former Lincoln manager Michael Skubala – and when is the right time for a manager to make the jump up?

In League Two, it's been a less than desirable start for Crawley Town who are bottom of the Football League and out of the FA Cup after being beaten by seventh-tier Wimborne – where do they go from here? Elsewhere in the FA Cup, Plymouth Parkway assistant manager Matt Godfrey drops by after their win – and with Barnet on the horizon.

And after Shrewsbury Town's new ownership is confirmed, what's next for them?

Listen to the full episode above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

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We asked for your views on how you feel about the international break coming now for the high-flying Seagulls, and whether it might hinder momentum.

Here are some of your comments:

Chicken: Every year I think it's all going to go downhill, but it never happens. Brighton are a solid unit. They're not going anywhere. Brighton have the magic formula.

Tim: A change is as good as a rest, is one way of looking at it. I'd prefer our fellas to get a proper break from matches of any kind - refresh, recharge, train and come back ready for more, but clearly that's not possible for many in a top squad who heed the call from their countries.

TimW: I thought the last international break would hinder our momentum, and that break was longer than this one. Our normal thing is to reverse the form (good or bad) prior to an international break. But last time we managed to pick up where we left off. Hopefully, we can do it again.

Hayling: Ask us again in February as we traditionally don't win a game in December or January!

In response to Hayling, here's a breakdown of how Fabian Hurzeler's side fared from December 2024 to January 2025 and December 2025 to January 2026:

• December 2024 to January 2025: 10 games, two wins, three losses, five draws;

• December 2025 to January 2026: 11 games, one win, four losses, six draws.

Brighton are monitoring Dinamo Zagreb and Croatia striker Dion Beljo, 24. (Teamtalk), external

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On the latest Albion Unlimited podcast, Johnny Cantor is joined by former Seagulls captain Adam Virgo to reflect on Brighton's season so far.

Kieran Maguire and Dean Gallagher also share the supporters' perspective, while midfielder Mats Wieffer gives his thoughts on the win over Brentford.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

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"It can't carry on like this, can it? It can."

Those are the words of Brighton fan Maz Mirzadeh, who has full faith in the Seagulls' momentum not being hindered by the two-week international break.

So far, Fabian Hurzeler has produced an emphatic start to the Premier League campaign with his side sitting five points off the league leaders Arsenal.

Hurzeler will see nine senior squad players head off on international duty, but could the two-week period hinder the club's form?

Mirzadeh believes being second in the league is "huge" for the club and it will offer the side a "platform" to build from when the players return for an away tie against Hull City on 22 November.

How do you feel about the international break coming now for the high-flying Seagulls? Could it hinder momentum? Or is a break necessary to provide rest for some players?

Get in touch with your views here

Brighton midfielder Pascal Gross believes every player in the squad has contributed to his side's early success so far this season.

Gross scored Brighton's second goal in the 2-0 win against Brentford on Sunday to move the Seagulls up to second in the Premier League table, but the 35-year-old is impressed by Diego Gomez, who opened the scoring at the Amex.

"He doesn't score normal goals," Gross told BBC Radio Sussex.

"I think he doesn't want to. If he's close in front of goal he's probably more worried than when we have it 20 yards out. He never scores normal goals, always like screamers.

"The power he has is different to everybody. When he hits it, if it hits the target it's a big problem for the keeper. That's how he hits it."

The Seagulls are just five points behind leaders Arsenal and the 35-year-old points to Brighton's squad depth as part of the reason why.

"So far really good, you can't say differently," Gross, who is in his second spell with the club, said. "Even the League Cup performance [against Manchester City] was really good, and we probably deserved to win that game more than the league game, but in general, really good.

"What makes me happy is five away games is really tough, we used the whole squad, every player contributes. When you see our bench now there's a lot of quality. We make changes and it doesn't really matter, we can bring players on from the bench that can make a difference so that really gives us a good feeling."

Listen to more from Gross by pressing play above or on BBC Sounds here