Sam Allardyce baffled by officials over Harry Maguire decision vs Man Utd
West Brom boss Sam Allardyce was not pleased with the officials’ handling of a key incident against Manchester United, or the response to it from an ex-referee.
Big Sam highlighted the confusion over certain rules, with officials sharing different viewpoints on the Harry Maguire penalty decision.
Referee Craig Pawson initially judged that Semi Ajayi brought down the defender before a consultation with VAR led the decision to be overturned.
Talk since has focused on whether Maguire was offside anyway, and Big Sam is annoyed by the conflicting opinions.
He told talkSPORT breakfast, (15/2, 08:39:12), “It’s bizarre, let’s face it.
“They’re making an absolute mockery of the rules and laws of the game.
“Harry Maguire is in an offside position as the ball is kicked, that gives him an advantage over our defenders to get to the ball.
“What more do you need to say that he’s offside.
“It’s absolute rubbish, they’re (the officials) talking rubbish to defend themselves, it’s diabolical.”
Maguire also came out after the match to bemoan the penalty call being overturned.
That is quite rich coming from a Man United player and it shows that there are always going to be differing perspectives.
But the fact of the matter is that the England international was offside when Bruno Fernandes took the free kick.
Former referee Mark Clattenburg has argued differently though, stating offside could not be given because Maguire was not actively in play until he challenged for the ball.
We think that is ridiculous, and thankfully Allardyce agrees.
All of our good defensive work could have been undone by a costly decision – Ajayi barely touched Maguire and he was certainly involved in the play.
Maguire also claimed Mbaye Diagne fouled Victor Lindelof to score his goal so this is definitely a case of sour grapes.
At least the incident shows that Big Sam has not lost any of his passion or his fighting spirit.
In other West Brom news, ‘Player of the season’, ‘Unbelievable’ – Many WBA fans wowed by ‘masterclass’ from star v United.