Presenter Dave Walker has slammed the refereeing after one major incident in Huddersfield Town’s most recent game.
Unfortunately for the Terriers, their hopes of becoming a Premier League side next season came to an end over the weekend as they lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in the Championship play-off final.
In the end, Levi Colwill’s own goal following James Garner’s cross was enough to settle the air, but it seems like Huddersfield were rather unlucky not to have at least one penalty.
Indeed, the defeated team were denied two penalties despite VAR being in use, after questionable challenges on Harry Toffolo and Lewis O’Brien weren’t given as spot-kicks.
After seeing the second incident, the host and producer of The West Ham Way podcast couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Walker took to Twitter to write: “When is VAR gonna be scrapped? It’s an absolute joke. Corruption in football is real. How that second penalty appeal wasn’t given is anyone’s guess. I’d be absolutely fuming if I was a Huddersfield fan. Unbelievable.”
TIF Thoughts on Huddersfield and the penalty incidents…
With the game being decided by just the one goal, it’s safe to say that even just one of those penalties would have had a major impact on the outcome of the game.
Meanwhile, although we can understand the frustrations with consistency in the use of technology, Walker’s cries of corruption are largely unfounded – referees are criticised for their decisions all the time, not least referee Jon Moss himself in Liverpool’s recent win over Aston Villa in the Premier League – and appear to only serve to discredit the enormous efforts of Nottingham Forest to reach the top flight after an awful start to the campaign.
Even so, it was no surprise to hear Huddersfield manager Carlos Corberan feeling much the same as Walker when speaking after the game. He told BBC Sport: “No idea what the point of VAR is.”
Were Huddersfield denied a clear penalty?
Yes
No
He added: “I don’t know if they can review actions, if the referee doesn’t ask?
“The players felt that they would have finished the actions if it wasn’t a foul, because both had clear advantages to finish the attacks.
“You have the referee and VAR. We were close to finishing the attacks and I can only accept the decisions.”
Judging by the reaction of the Huddersfield fans online, it’s clear that they also feel as though Moss cost their team greatly. Of course, they might be biased, but when Walker – who is not affiliated with the Yorkshire side – says the decision was ‘unbelievable’, it’s hard not to feel for the supporters.