Sheffield United star slams "biased" TNT Sports amid Cole and Ferdinand comments

22 January 2024 , 07:23

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Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand were both convinced a penalty should've been given (Image: TNT Sports)

Sheffield United's Anel Ahmedhodzic has accused TNT Sport's punditry line-up of being "biased" after they claimed he should've had a late penalty given against him.

West Ham drew 2-2 with the Blades amid a host of late flash points. Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand, two players who came through the ranks at the Hammers, were left to dissect the incidents after the points were shared at Bramall Lane.

They were both adamant that Ahmedhodzic had grappled Jarrod Bowen to the floor, which would've seen West Ham handed a late penalty. But the Sheffield United defender accused the broadcaster of editing the footage to make him look guilty.

He said on social media: "Clearly biased. You can see at the unedited footage where he pulls me down with him which makes me lose sight of the ball. Obviously it’s been edited to make it look like a pen to West Ham."

Cole said when assessing the incident on TNT : "Absolutely a penalty. Defenders in the last minutes of the game need to keep their composure. He puts his arms on him, he's not looking at the ball, his arms are all over Bowen, I can't see how they've not looked at that."

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Ferdinand added: "He's not looking at the ball, he's not looking at Bowen, his hands are all over him, he's got his back to play. We can see his number and the ball is coming from the opposite side. I don't know how they haven't gone that's a stonewall penalty for me."

Cole then continued: "It looks like the Six Nations - that's a rugby tackle. I can only say the referee has made three massive decisions that have lit this place up, the atmosphere was white hot. He's probably just lost his nerve a little bit. You need to be a brave referee in situations like that."

The Hammers had been on the receiving end of a controversial call themselves, which saw Oli McBurnie handed a penalty after Alphonse Areola was deemed to have fouled him, although many have argued the foul should've in fact gone against the Sheffield United star.

A frustrated Moyes said after the late draw at Bramall Lane: "Things didn’t go for us today, definitely didn’t go. We actually felt that in the first half that we had a lot of decisions against us, and in the end we think the late ones were really difficult to take."

Samuel Meade