Ryan Mason has every right to be furious as ex-PGMOL chief speaks out on Portsmouth controversy
West Brom’s perfect start to the Championship season was spoiled after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Portsmouth.
Mikey Johnston fired the Baggies ahead midway through the first half, but they were pegged back by a Colby Bishop header just after half-time.
Ryan Mason’s side were the ones pressing for a winner, but they’ll feel hard done by after two refereeing went against them in quick succession late on.
First, they were denied a penalty when Portsmouth defender Connor Ogilvie appeared to bring down Aune Heggebo in the penalty box.
Minutes later, Heggebo raced through on goal and appeared to be pulled back by Pompey centre-half Regan Poole, who was already on a yellow card, but no foul was given.
West Brom News presents the exclusive opinion of former Premier League and FIFA-listed referee Keith Hackett.
Ryan Mason sent off for West Brom vs Portsmouth protests
Mason was booked by referee Elliot Bell after protesting for a penalty for the challenge by Ogilvie.
Minutes later, he was sent to the stands for protesting again after the tug by Poole wasn’t punished.
Speaking exclusively to West Brom News, ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett insisted that Mason had every reason to feel aggrieved.
He said: “The referee is in an excellent position for the first incident and I think he was right in not awarding a penalty kick.
“However, the second incident is an obvious foul and should have resulted in a red card. I sympathise with Mason receiving a red card for dissent because his cause for complaint is based on the poor decision by the referee.”
West Brom can be proud of their start to the Championship season
West Brom will be disappointed to walk away with only a point considering how they played against Portsmouth, and it may take a while for Mason to forgive Bell for his performance.
However, if those associated with the club take a moment to zoom out, they can be proud of their start to the Championship season.
There was a lot of hard work to do on the training ground during pre-season to ensure that the squad could adapt to their new manager’s gameplan.
That hard work helped West Brom to fly out of the traps against Blackburn and Wrexham. They were by far the better team against Portsmouth, too.
| West Brom | Portsmouth | |
| Goals | 1 | 1 |
| Shots on goal | 13 | 8 |
| Possession | 64 | 36 |
Mason can hopefully take some comfort in knowing that poor refereeing decisions tend to even themselves out over the course of the season.
He can only influence how his team plays, and he has done a fantastic job so far.
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