Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has been discussing West Bromwich Albion’s 3-0 loss to Aston Villa this past weekend and he’s claimed that the Baggies were wronged by Video Assistant Referee Darren England’s decision not to call for Martin Atkinson, who officiated this game, to review Kortney Hause’s lunge on Grady Diangana.
As explained by The Guardian, this lunge, which saw Hause receive a yellow card, came just minutes after West Brom midfielder Jake Livermore was sent off for a ‘similar action’ and speaking exclusively to This Is Futbol, Halsey has revealed that he thinks Albion boss Sam Allardyce would “have a case” in saying that Villa should have gone down to 10 men, declaring that he’s “very disappointed” in VAR official England and slamming the inconsistency of the officials.
Halsey said: “I applaud Darren England, the VAR official, on the Livermore challenge on Jack [Grealish], you’ve got to say where’s the consistency? Knowing Sam, as I do, he will not be pleased that Aston Villa didn’t go down to 10 men.
“I think that he’ll have a case. I think West Bromwich Albion fans have got every reason to feel upset with the officials. For me, once again, I’ve received some criticism from Villa fans about – ‘it wasn’t a red card offence’ – for me, there was no intent but as I said before, intent has got nothing to do with anything.
“Even if it’s an accidental challenge, that doesn’t matter. Did that challenge endanger the player’s safety? In my opinion, it did. So, you look at Darren England, he’s been totally inconsistent.
“I have to say, I’m very disappointed with Darren England that he never recommended Martin Atkinson for a review. I’ve been in touch with guys that are on the list now and they thought the same that it should’ve been a red card.”
Should Hause have been sent off?
YES
NO
Similar to Halsey, Allardyce also shared that he was “disappointed” by the VAR decision not to have Hause’s challenge on Diangana reviewed by Atkinson, with the manager, who took charge of his first game as Baggies boss on Sunday, declaring that he is “convinced” that, if reviewed, Hause’s challenge might have seen Villa go down to 10 men as Albion did.
Considering that, according to Halsey, he and Allardyce aren’t the only ones who feel this way, with the ex-Premier League official sharing that he’s been in contact with some current top-flight referees who share his view on this matter, perhaps he’s right in saying that Allardyce may have a case here and West Brom fans should feel wronged by this decision.
However, with Albion currently sitting inside of the relegation zone, Halsey’s comments surely won’t ease Baggies fans’ frustrations and hopefully, for the West Midlands club, they see some of these decisions start to go their way sooner or later, as a bit of luck may now be necessary if they are to avoid the drop this term.