Gary O'Neil holds post-match meeting with officials after more VAR controversy

27 November 2023 , 22:31

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Gary O'Neil holds post-match meeting with officials after more VAR controversy

Wolves boss Gary O'Neil delayed his post-match media commitments to hold talks with officials who admitted they made another mistake which went against his side.

Fulham ran out 3-2 winners of an entertaining - and controversial - clash at Craven Cottage. The winning goal came in stoppage time as Willian converted from the spot, his second penalty of the game.

The night's third spot kick was awarded after referee Michael Sailsbury was told by VAR to recheck an incident involving Joao Gomes and Harry Wilson. Sailsbury initially waved away protests after the Fulham forward nipped in front of the Brazilian midfielder.

However, VAR Stuart Atwell advised the on-field official to check the incident on a pitchside monitor, after which a penalty was given. It's the latest in a long line of divisive calls that have gone against Wanderers, with head of referees Howard Webb already offering them two apologies for mistakes.

O'Neil held a private meeting with Webb prior to the international break, hoping that the standard of officiating on his team's games would begin to improve. And while Marco Silva thought the decisive penalty was clear, O'Neil went to speak to the team in charge, with his Sky Sports interview pushed back.

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When he did appear, he confirmed the referee had admitted that the first penalty decision was incorrect, while there was a disagreement over the first. He said: "We discussed a lot of decisions. Vinicius should have been sent off for headbutting Max. Tim Ream should have been sent off for a second bookable offence for the penalty. They are my opinion.

"Nelson touched the ball for the first penalty and doesn't touch Tom Cairney. The referee said he thinks he got it wrong and should have been sent to the monitor."

O'Neil added: "That doesn't help me. So that one has been pretty much admitted that it was a mistake. The Harry Wilson one we disagree. I feel it was soft. For all four decisions to go against us is tough to take and we didn't deserve that.

"[It's] bad luck that it keeps going against us. But yeah, there are bad refereeing decisions in there, I have had a good grown-up conversation with him [the referee].

Willian celebrates after scoring from the spot for Fulham vs Wolves

"I am not angry with people, it's like 'Come on guys, there's six or seven that have gone against us'. This is a big club. The impact that you are having on my reputation, and the club and people's livelihoods is massive. We should be able to talk about the game and not decisions but unfortunately, we can't."

There was plenty of drama before the winning goal as well. Fulham opened the scoring after just seven minutes when Alex Iwobi turned in an Antonee Robinson cross. Wolves responded well though, and deserved their equaliser which came from Matheus Cunha after some brilliance from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.

Fulham hit the front on the hour mark when the first of their two penalties were given for a foul by Nelson Semedo on Tom Cairney. Sailsbury gave that one on-field and despite replays showing Semedo did touch the ball, the decision was ratified by officials in Stockley Park.

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Cairney said of the first penalty: “I was travelling quick and got there before him and at that pace you go down. But I need to see it again.”

Monday Night Football pundit Carragher gave his own verdict: “I think it’s extremely harsh. There’s no doubt Semedo gets a touch on the ball, not a lot, but there’s not a lot of contact either."

Wolves had a penalty of their own after 75 minutes, with Hwang Hee-chan scoring the spot kick he won after tangling with Tim Ream. Fulham were then, perhaps, fortunate to avoid a red card after Carlos Vinicius made contact with Max Kilman with his head.

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Kilman stayed on his feet, a yellow followed, and Fulham had a penalty just seconds later. Willian made no mistake from the spot to earn a valuable win for the Cottagers who moved level with their opponents on 15 points.

Ben Husband