Walsall boss Dean Keates has this morning labelled referee Ben Toners performance as embarrassing following our 1-0 defeat to Barnsley.
Keates feels the Saddlers weren’t given the rub of the green as Isiah Osbourne had a perfectly good goal disallowed and that Barnsley’s ninety-second minute winner should also have been disallowed for hand ball.
Speaking to the Express And Star Keates said,
“Ozzy (Osbourne) scored a perfectly good goal – the decision was an embarrassment”
“Watching it back, it’s two lads challenging for the ball.”
“Josh’s eyes are on the ball, no one has ended up on the floor – if it’s a foul, someone ends up on the floor so that tells you straight away that Pinnock is not unhappy with the contact.”
“Then you look Barnsley’s goal it’s hit him (Jacob Brown) on the thigh and then the left hand and the referee has not given that one.”
“Some of the decisions that were given against us were absolutely ridiculous.”
A few weeks ago Keates received an apology from the referees association regarding decisions against his side
The officiating in League 1 has been nothing short of abysmal this season. The EFL need to do a full review and offer further training to ensure officials are up to the speed of the game but at the same time had Gordon, Ismail or Blackett-Taylor put their chances away we wouldn’t be discussing the officials.
