Sheffield manager Heckingbottom has publicly expressed his anger.
“Paul Heckingbottom was furious with match officials after watching Tottenham Hotspur come from behind to beat Sheffield United on Saturday,” British media outlet The Athletic reported on Sunday.
Tottenham came from behind to win 2-1 against Sheffield United in the fifth round of the 2023/24 English Premier League (EPL) season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on Saturday (Nov. 16). The match saw both sides complain about the officiating of referee Peter Banks.카지노
Two goals in added time denied Sheffield Wednesday their first win since returning to the Premier League, and Ollie McBurnie’s red card late on added insult to injury.
Heckingbottom was unhappy with some of the refereeing decisions and risked FA action after the final whistle with harsh criticism.
He told Sky Sports: “Something has to be done now. I’ve complained at half-time and even when we were 1-0 up. By focusing on the time delays, the referee is dictating the way we play. If we build up from the back and Tottenham press, that dictates how we play. But we were just told to play long and we can’t do that.”
“Wes (Foderingham) got a yellow card for handling outside the box and was threatened with a sending off (for time wasting) and you can’t do that. The refereeing was terrible, it’s not about soccer decisions, it’s about game management.”
“What worries me is that the focus is only on yellow cards for wasting time and when I talk to the referees, they don’t understand what I’m talking about. They’re just referees, they don’t know the game at all.”
“We need to clean it up and organize it quickly. It’s ruining the game. And finally, Ollie McBurney was sent off for telling the referee that someone was pulling his shirt. I just saw someone (Mickey Vanderpen) hit our goalkeeper with an elbow that required stitches, and that’s the same foul. What the hell happened to our game?” he said in strong criticism.
Meanwhile, the game set a new Premier League record. “The Premier League has set a new record for the most yellow cards in a single day, surpassing a record set 25 years ago,” British outlet Goal.com reported on Sunday (KST).
According to soccer statistics company Opta, 44 yellow cards were shown in Saturday’s Premier League matches, breaking the league record set 25 years ago in 1998.
Referee Peter Banks handed out 13 yellow cards in Tottenham’s dramatic second-half victory over Sheffield United, while Aston Villa’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace also saw eight yellow cards.
It wasn’t just Sheffield Wednesday who were unhappy with the officiating. Tottenham were also unhappy with some of the decisions that went against them. There were penalty appeals for fouls on James Maddison and Son Heung-min that were not granted.
Spurs also had a goal disallowed for a questionable foul in the buildup. The Sheffield United goalkeeper only received a yellow card despite handling the ball outside the box, and Solomon’s shot that was saved by the keeper was ruled a goal kick.
Overall, it was one of the worst refereeing decisions in recent memory and left fans of both teams feeling uncomfortable.