‘This is the last thing we need’ – Furious Premier League club to speak with PGMOL after defeat
A frustrated Leicester City boss Steve Cooper confirmed he will write to the PGMOL after his side’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea. Cooper also bit his tongue when discussing referee Andy Madley’s performance to avoid getting into further trouble. Cooper was booked by Madley in the second half of Leicester’s 2-1 loss to ChelseaGetty The Foxes boss was adamant his side should have had a penalty in the second half when Chelsea defender Levi Colwill looked to have brought down Stephy Mavididi. However, Madley did not award it and VAR opted not to intervene. Leicester did have a penalty in second half stoppage time when Bobby De Cordova-Reid was fouled by Romeo Lavia, although it took a VAR review to get there. Leigh Doughty, who began the game as fourth official but took over linesman duties from Mark Scholes at half-time after the latter picked up an injury, initially flagged Reid to be offside. But replays showed the Leicester forward was clearly onside as Madley was told to award a penalty. Speaking to talkSPORT’s Sam Matterface after the contest, Cooper, who was booked by Madley for his protests in the second half, conceded he felt the club had to take extreme measures to get the PGMOL’s attention after the official’s performance. “I think the club needs to, and they will, they will to be fair because I’m not saying that we’re not, but in this moment we have got to officially write things or pick up the phone and go, ‘Come on, what’s going on here,'” Cooper told talkSPORT. “The last thing the PGMOL needed this week is things like that. It’s no good for anybody. “Sometimes, they can go for you and against you. But it’s the last thing they need in the first Premier League game after the international break. “Everybody is talking more about the decisions than the actual game, which is always a good indicator of how the game’s been refereed. Madley handed out eight yellow cards throughout the contestGetty Cooper added: “We had him (Madley) at Palace as well for the VAR. “I won’t say anything that’s going to get me into trouble. But we’ve had some bad luck with him this year. That’s all I’ll say on it.” Madley was indeed the VAR when Leicester and Crystal Palace met in the fourth game of the Premier League season. Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a 92nd-minute equaliser from the spot to rescue his side from 2-0 down as the contest ended 2-2. However, Cooper was left furious over Mateta’s first goal as it was initially flagged for offside, only for VAR to overturn the decision and award it. But Cooper believed VAR had used the wrong freeze-frame to decide whether Mateta was off-side as images shared on social media proved the Foxes boss was right to be angry. Cooper has not been happy with the PGMOL this seasonGetty Leicester met with the PGMOL two days after but it was explained to them no human error was made and the correct frame was used to decide whether Mateta was off-side or not. However, Cooper held nothing back during his press conference in the days after. “We’re over it now, it was an awful human error that we believe has been hidden a little bit,” Cooper said. “We have seen different images that show he clearly was offside, but unfortunately they froze it at the wrong time and he was deemed to be onside. Everything that has been seen has been a false image. “On Monday we showed the Premier League with clear footage that actually the game was stopped at the wrong time. “Decisions go against you whether it’s in-game or VAR and we’ve had a massive error go against us. We don’t want it to go under the radar because I don’t think that’s right for the players or for the supporters. “Errors like that shouldn’t happen and it’s why we’re changing to the semi-automated system. We felt very let down by it. We needed to stand up for the club and tell the Premier League what we thought.”
A frustrated Leicester City boss Steve Cooper confirmed he will write to the PGMOL after his side’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea.
Cooper also bit his tongue when discussing referee Andy Madley’s performance to avoid getting into further trouble.
The Foxes boss was adamant his side should have had a penalty in the second half when Chelsea defender Levi Colwill looked to have brought down Stephy Mavididi.
However, Madley did not award it and VAR opted not to intervene.
Leicester did have a penalty in second half stoppage time when Bobby De Cordova-Reid was fouled by Romeo Lavia, although it took a VAR review to get there.
Leigh Doughty, who began the game as fourth official but took over linesman duties from Mark Scholes at half-time after the latter picked up an injury, initially flagged Reid to be offside.
But replays showed the Leicester forward was clearly onside as Madley was told to award a penalty.
Speaking to talkSPORT’s Sam Matterface after the contest, Cooper, who was booked by Madley for his protests in the second half, conceded he felt the club had to take extreme measures to get the PGMOL’s attention after the official’s performance.
“I think the club needs to, and they will, they will to be fair because I’m not saying that we’re not, but in this moment we have got to officially write things or pick up the phone and go, ‘Come on, what’s going on here,'” Cooper told talkSPORT.
“The last thing the PGMOL needed this week is things like that. It’s no good for anybody.
“Sometimes, they can go for you and against you. But it’s the last thing they need in the first Premier League game after the international break.
“Everybody is talking more about the decisions than the actual game, which is always a good indicator of how the game’s been refereed.
Cooper added: “We had him (Madley) at Palace as well for the VAR.
“I won’t say anything that’s going to get me into trouble. But we’ve had some bad luck with him this year. That’s all I’ll say on it.”
Madley was indeed the VAR when Leicester and Crystal Palace met in the fourth game of the Premier League season.
Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a 92nd-minute equaliser from the spot to rescue his side from 2-0 down as the contest ended 2-2.
However, Cooper was left furious over Mateta’s first goal as it was initially flagged for offside, only for VAR to overturn the decision and award it.
But Cooper believed VAR had used the wrong freeze-frame to decide whether Mateta was off-side as images shared on social media proved the Foxes boss was right to be angry.
Leicester met with the PGMOL two days after but it was explained to them no human error was made and the correct frame was used to decide whether Mateta was off-side or not.
However, Cooper held nothing back during his press conference in the days after.
“We’re over it now, it was an awful human error that we believe has been hidden a little bit,” Cooper said.
“We have seen different images that show he clearly was offside, but unfortunately they froze it at the wrong time and he was deemed to be onside. Everything that has been seen has been a false image.
“On Monday we showed the Premier League with clear footage that actually the game was stopped at the wrong time.
“Decisions go against you whether it’s in-game or VAR and we’ve had a massive error go against us. We don’t want it to go under the radar because I don’t think that’s right for the players or for the supporters.
“Errors like that shouldn’t happen and it’s why we’re changing to the semi-automated system. We felt very let down by it. We needed to stand up for the club and tell the Premier League what we thought.”
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