Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper felt it was another bad day for the Professional Game Match Officials Limited after some controversial decisions in his side’s 1-1 draw with Brentford.
The PGMOL were forced to stand intended fourth official Darren England down at the City Ground after his mistake on Saturday night when, as VAR in Tottenham’s game against Liverpool, he failed to act properly in overturning the decision to rule out Luis Diaz’s goal for offside.
And both managers were left complaining after the draw as Nicolas Dominguez’s header cancelled out Christian Norgaard’s opener, which came immediately after Moussa Niakhate was sent off.
That is the decision that irked Cooper the most, the boss insisting that his defender’s tackle, where he raked his studs down Yoane Wissa’s calf, was accidental.
Cooper said: “Honestly, if he doesn’t give him a second yellow, nobody mentions it. All of your colleagues on TV and radio have said the same.
“With it being the only Premier League game of the day, the PGMOL needed a real clean day and unfortunately they have got the opposite. We want to help referees, we will moan and complain as much as anyone else, it is just the nature of it.
“We’ll try and do it respectfully, but sometimes it’s hard. They have got to help themselves. I’m annoyed with the first yellow, he shouldn’t have lunged in. The second yellow would not even have been mentioned…of course it was accidental.
“You need football understanding to see that. It’s a contact game.
“Some have gone for us, so I’m not sitting here saying we’re hard done by. We all want refereeing to be at the right level and we all want to help them and they have to help themselves. The last thing they needed today was talking points about decision-making, but that’s what they’ve got.
“Come on, let’s work together and we will help. Some things have gone in our favour, not as much as have gone against us. This league is amazing and every part of it needs to be at that level.”
Brentford boss Thomas Frank says he is “tired” of talking about VAR after he thought his side were denied a clear penalty.
Frank believes Wissa was fouled by Matt Turner early in the second half when he closed down the Forest goalkeeper and was caught by Turner’s follow through, while Brentford also had two penalty appeals turned down.
Referee Paul Tierney did not give anything and the incident was not even checked by VAR Michael Oliver.
“I am tired of talking about it, I understand you guys need to ask the question,” he said.
“I just want to talk about performances.
“I think the two handball situations, some managers would claim them as penalty, I won’t. I think I would really hate that if they were given against my team.
“But the Wissa one is a clear penalty, you can’t go through the man, that is an unfortunate mistake from VAR, especially when that is clear and obvious.
“Unfortunately our players are too honest, we need to be a little bit more nasty, I would never say that to the players, I like honest players.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Jackson , Delap & Joao Pedro next season 34-year-old Aaron Ramsey is signing for Pumas in Liga MX, per @davidornstein Five years ago Leo Messi joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the only active players to reach 700 goals. They're still going:Ronaldo: 938 goals Messi: 866 goals Just CR7 THINGS! Lamine Yamal will start the 2025-26 season as an Adult! Champions Lea...
Man Utd are reportedly targeting a recently relegated Premier League player to strengthen Ruben Amorim's midfield.Manchester United have held discussions over a shock swoop for Leicester City midfielder Wilfried Ndidi, according to reports. Ruben Amorim may view the recently-relegated star as a cut-price solution in his pursuit of midfield reinforcements this summer.United have focused their early...
Chelsea could reportedly hijack Tottenham's pursuit of a Premier League forward.Chelsea are reportedly looking to hijack Tottenham's pursuit of Mohammed Kudus Chelsea could reportedly hijack Tottenham's pursuit of Mohammed Kudus by negotiating a swap deal for the West Ham winger. The west Londoners have been among the Premier League's busiest clubs in the summer window, having already made a numbe...
Lionel Messi could consider leaving Inter Miami to play in a more competitive league ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America. Messi and Co. faced humiliation in the Club World Cup round of 16 stage after suffering a 4-0 loss to Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentine's current deal expires at the end of 2025 and he has reportedly put fresh contract talks on hold.Messi coul...
Chelsea not ruling out swoop for West Ham star KudusAccording to the Daily Mail, Chelsea are set to compete with their Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur to secure a transfer for West Ham star Mohammed Kudus. The Blues have already signed Liam Delap from Ipswich Town and are now closing in on signing Joao Pedro from Brighton and Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund. Earlier this month, the Ha...
Charly Musonda Chelsea Premier LeagueFormer Chelsea rising star Charly Musonda Jr has retired aged 28 after an injury-hit career for one of Belgium's former brightest prospects.Musonda retires aged 28WHAT HAPPENED?Musonda has now decided to put an end to a difficult career, announcing his decision himself on the Rising Ballers podcast as reported by Belgian outlet La DH Les Sports. Musonda had bee...
FBL-EUR-C1-REAL MADRID-PRESSERDani Carvajal is ready to play in any position under new Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso as the veteran Spanish full-back eyes a return to the Los Blancos squad after remaining sidelined with an ACL injury since last October. Carvajal rejoined Madrid training earlier this month and is now hopeful of getting game time under Alonso in the upcoming 2025-26 campaign.WHAT HAP...
Bryan MbeumoIt is still possible that Bryan Mbeumo remains at Brentford this summer, claims the club's director amidst strong Manchester United links.WHAT HAPPENED?Bees director of football Phil Giles has insisted the club are waiting for the right offer for their talisman and could keep him next season if this does not come in from United or Tottenham Hotspur - despite the fact that Mbeumo only h...
FBL-ESP-LIGA-REAL MADRID-ALONSOComplete guide to Los Blancos' pre-season preparations, including friendlies and training camps, ahead of the 2025-26 season.Elimination from the 2024-25 Champions League must have hit Real Madrid hard, but Los Blancos already have big events to look forward to ahead of the 2025-26 season.Under Carlo Ancelotti's most recent managerial spell at the club, Real suffered...
Luis-DiazBayern Munich are ready compete with Barcelona to secure a transfer for Liverpool winger Luis Diaz this summer. The Bundesliga giants are looking for a quality left-wing option and have put the Colombian in their shortlist. The German champions, though, are yet to initiate formal transfer talks with the Reds as they are still evaluating their options. WHAT HAPPENED?According to Sky Sports...
- 1 Raphinha happy to see Barcelona miss out on FIFA Club World Cup
- 2 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 3 Liverpool willing to make swap proposal to Palace for Guehi
- 4 Chelsea transfer at 'final stages'
- 5 Club World Cup 2025: Benfica v Chelsea predictions, best bets and odds
- 6 Man Utd close in on Bryan Mbeumo! Red Devils agree £60m+ fee with Brentford as Premier League rivals iron out final transfer details
- 7 Mystery blonde who had night out with Kieran Trippier
- 8 Man United close in on Bryan Mbeumo
- 9 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 10 Sporting CP president Varandas: Gyokeres knows price he can leave for