Bartley ‘escaped punishment’ over West Brom v Sunderland controversy – Ex-PGMOL chief
Kyle Bartley appears to have been lucky to avoid punishment for West Brom in the defeat to Sunderland on Saturday.
The Baggies fell to a second straight loss as Sunderland took a 1-0 win away from The Hawthorns on 5 April.
Trai Hume caught out Joe Wildsmith with a free kick after just 35 minutes, securing three points for the Black Cats in a frustrating blow for Tony Mowbray.
With that being said, things could have been so different for Albion if Bartley had been punished by referee Tom Nield in B71.
Bartley gets away with one v Sunderland
The 33-year-old does have an error in him but has typically been reliable when playing for the Baggies this campaign.
His minutes have been reduced due to a red card he picked up after a win against Sheffield Wednesday in February, featuring just five times since.
The Englishman started against Regis Le Bris’ side but could have got lucky not to pick up at least a yellow card from Nield at The Hawthorns.
Bartley went lunging into a challenge on Wilson Isidor and failed to get a touch on the ball but avoided any punishment on the day.
This didn’t go down well with former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett, who believes a caution would have been a fair punishment.
Speaking to Mackem News (6 April), he said: “That is a reckless challenge that should have resulted in a yellow card.
“The law clearly states: Reckless is when a player acts with disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, an opponent and must be cautioned.”
Bartley risks being dropped at West Brom
The Baggies are in a hunt to secure a playoff spot, but a patch of rough form has resulted in them sitting eighth in the Championship.
Coventry City, Bristol City and Middlesbrough have all leapfrogged the Black Country outfit and now look to be in the driving seat to earn a spot in the top six.
If Albion are to improve and move ahead of this trio, there could be an argument to say that Bartley shouldn’t be starting week in and week out.
Although he wasn’t directly at fault for the goal against Sunderland, his terrible challenge on Isidor sums up the danger around him starting.
It will be interesting to see how Mowbray deals with the defender, moving forward into the final six games of the second-tier season.