Refsupport and Lee Trundle clash over ‘Nonsense’ West Brom controversy v QPR as footage emerges
Refsupport UK and Lee Trundle have clashed over the controversial Cedric Kipre handball incident in the draw between West Brom and Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday.
The Baggies earned a 2-2 draw at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium thanks to goals from Mikey Johnston and Grady Diangana, but the big talking point of the game came when Kipre seemed to punch a header off the line.
At the time there were minimal appeals for a penalty but replays were conclusive and it led to QPR defender Steve Cook raging at the referee after the game. But jumping to his defence referee charity RefSupport UK took to their personal Twitter account (7 March) to call it a “nonsense”.
“’It can’t be missed…'” they wrote. “Ohh but players can miss can’t they? What’s the answer then? VAR?
“Oh wait! This sort of nonsense is why VAR was brought in and you are still not happy. Football is failing because it wants refs to be correct on every decision, which is impossible.
“What do you think of the player, a fellow professional, that cost you the points by getting away with the blatant handball? Any blame for him mugging you for the 3 points or is that “part of the game”? Do you want him demoted? Sacked maybe?”
That led to ex-striker Lee Trundle responding to argue against that point on his own personal Twitter account (7 March).
“This is exactly what I mean,” he wrote. “How can you defend that?
“The refs and linesmen’s job is to watch the game. How can you miss a handball on the line that clear? Imagine QPR got relegated by 1 point? That’s the difference in whats at stake. A ref just starts fresh next game.”
West Brom got lucky, referee’s can’t win
The Championship season is crazy and in a campaign that is so tight like this season, the smallest things can play a huge part in how things turn out.
In this instance, Kipre and West Brom got incredibly lucky that the referee didn’t spot his handball and he arguably should have been sent off too. But lets not forget that QPR had already missed a penalty, so there was no guarantee they would have scored it.
It’s also difficult for referees no matter what, but especially in this instance considering the fact there were minimal appeals at the time too.
Obviously once you’ve see then replay it’s clear what has happened, and that is a case for VAR to be used in the Championship. But these incidents happen in every league, and we’ve seen how badly VAR has been used in the past too.
No solution solves everything and while the Baggies benefited from this incident, they’ve been hard done by in the past. Both parties in this argument are right in their own way, but it’s time to move on from it now.
In other West Brom news, Nigel Quashie drools over Baggies man after what he saw.
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