Richard Keys makes ‘worst in Premier League history’ claim after watching Sheffield United 2-2 West Ham
Richard Keys blasted the current set of Premier League match officials as “the worst in Premier League history” after a number of incidents went against West Ham in their 2-2 draw with Sheffield United.
The Irons were leading in the 98th minute of Sunday’s (21 January) contest at Bramall Lane when referee Michael Salisbury adjudged that Alphonse Areola had taken out Oli McBurnie.
McBurnie converted that penalty in the 103rd minute, with that the latest goal in the competition’s history, but more drama was to follow in a game that also saw two red cards.
Jarrod Bowen appeared to be wrestled to the ground by Anel Ahmedhodzic, only for Salisbury to turn down the appeals.
West Ham’s players were not alone in being angry by what they witnessed, as beIN SPORTS presenter Keys also hit out at the decisions made in the weekly blog on his personal website [22 January].
“Despite the millions spent on their fancy VAR bunker, facilities in general, [Howard] Webb’s (showbiz showbiz showbiz) return, smart diets, fitness training, coaching (don’t laugh – these guys are coached) it’s just not getting any better,” Keys said.
“I’ll repeat what I’ve often said – this generation of referees is the worst in PL history. Webb (showbiz showbiz showbiz) isn’t responsible for that, but it is his fault that we’ve seen not a jot of progress towards making things better since he took over at the PGMOL.”
“Let me quote what Mark Clattenburg said about Michael Salisbury’s decision to award Sheff Utd a pen in stoppage time. Btw – the game was deep in added time to added time, because Salisbury needed VAR to convince him that Rhian Brewster had to go for his assault on Emerson. I haven’t seen a clearer red all season. Why did Salisbury need VAR to convince him to upgrade his original decision? It beggars belief.
“Sorry. Back to Clattenburg in The Mail ‘It is a foul by McBurnie on Areola. If you know football, know Sheff Utd and know McBurnie, you know he is going to try to disrupt the goalkeeper. It should’ve been a free-kick to West Ham’. Correct. Andy said the same as we watched it.
“But Salisbury wasn’t done yet. There was time enough left for Utd’s captain Ahmedhodzic to wrestle Bowen to the ground in the box, as he tried to get on the end of Johnson’s cross. Now this was a pen. As we know, Salisbury gave Utd a free-kick. Clattenburg’s view of this one – ‘appallingly wrong decision’.
Shocker
Keys is correct in what he says. Salisbury got the big calls wrong and he was not helped out by his colleagues watching elsewhere.
West Ham were cheated out of victory at Bramall Lane and those two points could make all the difference come the end of the season in the race for a European spot.
An apology will likely be forthcoming, but what difference does that make? The standard of officiating in this country really is at a low point.
There is an argument that these decisions balance themselves out over the course of the season, but that does not feel like it is the case.
David Moyes was cooler than expected in his post-match interviews, but perhaps that façade was put on to prevent himself from landing a hefty fine.
All that said, West Ham produced a poor display in Sheffield and should not have been left holding on anyway against the division’s bottom side.
The sooner this draw – which feels more like a loss – can be put to one side, the better.
In other West Ham news, a Sky Sports pundit was blown away by a “magnificent” piece of quality he saw from a Hammers player at the weekend.
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