Mark Clattenburg cannot believe ‘Astounding’ West Ham controversy v Sheffield United
Mark Clattenburg was astounded by the decision not to award a penalty to West Ham in the 2-2 draw against Sheffield United after a controversial incident on Jarrod Bowen
The closing stages of the draw were chaotic, with Rhian Brewster and Vladimir Coufal both sent off and Oli McBurnie’s collision in the air with Alphonse Areola somehow seeing a last-gasp penalty awarded.
However, Clattenburg believes West Ham should have been handed a penalty after Anel Ahmedhozic brought down their top goalscorer in the box, deeming the lack of consistency throughout the game as “astounding”.
“[Jarrod] Bowen tries to get to Ben Johnson’s cross but is wrestled to the ground by Anel Ahmedhozic, who isn’t looking at the ball,” he wrote for Daily Mail Sport on Monday (22 January, page 5).
“Yet, a free-kick is awarded to Sheffield United. If [Michael] Salisbury thinks the collision involving McBurnie is a penalty, and this rugby tackle on Bowen isn’t, then something is fundamentally wrong.
“Referees need to be strong enough to show consistency and accuracy until the end. That was lacking here when major decisions had to be made. Verdict: Appallingly wrong decision.”
A common theme
There have been far too many refereeing mistakes this season, with many of them coming from VAR. And although Salisbury clearly got this one wrong, the technology failed to intervene and help him come to the right conclusion.
Once again, VAR is causing more issues than it is solving. And though Clattenburg’s assessment will come as some sort of relief that someone knows what they are talking about, West Ham will still be livid that three points have been stripped away from them.
With a victory on Sunday, the Hammers could have been just three points behind Tottenham Hotspur in fifth and six points behind Aston Villa in fourth. But that chance has been taken away from them, and not by their own doing.
Consistency is all fans are asking for. It is not that difficult, especially when referees have a pitchside monitor to study the incidents. Or at least, with the amount of time referees are taking to come to a decision at the monitor, they have enough time to study it extensively.
Tough decisions are part and parcel of the sport. But it is the easy decisions that referees are continuing to get disastrously wrong.
In other West Ham news, the stance of another Premier League player who has been linked with the club has been revealed.
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