Ex-Premier League referee opposes huge goal decision that denied Chelsea all three points vs Wolves
Dermot Gallagher, a former Premier League referee, has criticised Peter Bankes’ decision to rule out Timo Werner’s goal for Chelsea against Wolves on Saturday.
The German attacker had put the ball in the net, but the officials disallowed it due to a foul on defender Romain Saiss.
It was a crucial decision in the game, taking place just before Romelu Lukaku scored a brace at Stamford Bridge.
While the hosts held a two-goal advantage, the visitors came back with goals from Francisco Trincao and Conor Coady in the 97th minute.
It means that Thomas Tuchel’s side have only won one of their last five league games. When asked about the reason for the slump, the coach said in a news conference: “We invited the counter-attacks and big chances. Once you do this, you lose confidence and invite the opponent to smell that something is possible when it is unnecessary.”
With Champions League qualifying still up in the air and an FA Cup final this weekend, the Blues could have used all the momentum they could muster heading into the final few weeks.
As a result, the draw from a more comfortable lead will be aggravating.
Even more so given the circumstances surrounding Werner’s goal, which was disallowed.
The attacker got behind the defenders in the box and slotted home, despite defender Saiss tumbling under mild contact.
The referee awarded a free kick for a foul, and the VAR upheld that ruling. Former referee Dermot Gallagher disagreed with this, saying on Sky Sports:
“Wrong decision. On another day, it would not be given as a foul. When you look at an incident like this, you can pick the bones out of it, there is no doubt about that.
“When you watch how the referee [Peter Bankes] refereed all day, this was actually in keeping with his tolerance level. What I would say is I watched this game from minute naught to minute 90 and whenever anything like that occurred, he gave a foul, so it was not a massive surprise to me he gave a foul there.”
The decision would have certainly resulted in the team taking all three points, but they had to settle for one. They’ll have to put it behind them soon, with an FA Cup final on the horizon as a way to finish the season on a good note.
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Ex-Premier League referee opposes huge goal decision that denied Chelsea all three points vs Wolves
