Beware of The Warnock

Love him or hate him you cannot deny Neil Warnock’s passion for his clubs especially when in concerns the officials.

Following Sunday’s FA Cup 5th round tie with Aston Villa, Neil Warnock says assistant referee Trevor Massey should be suspended “for a long time” after their FA Cup draw with Aston Villa.

And it wasn’t just the dodgy corner decision that had Mr W going, here he is letting rip during the game…….

All that fans, managers and indeed players want is high standards and consistency so we are with you on this one Neil, the professional game needs to be officiated professionally at all times.

Television replays showed the official wrongly awarded a corner that led to Villa’s late equaliser in the 2-2 draw.

“Their second goal is a disgrace,” said Warnock. “We gave everything and in the end we were let down by incompetence.

“I’ve been told that if Mr Massey got it wrong, he’ll be suspended. I hope he is and I hope it’s for a long time.”

Warnock’s cash-strapped Championship side, who are in administration, led 2-1 with three minutes remaining, thanks to a stunning free-kick by Darren Ambrose.

But referee Kevin Friend – on the say-so of Massey – incorrectly awarded the Premier League outfit a corner after the ball had hit Nathan Delfouneso, although the incident occurred at high speed with the referee outside the penalty area.

From the resulting corner, Stiliyan Petrov headed home a dramatic equaliser to take the tie to a replay at Villa Park on Wednesday 24 February and Warnock could not hide his disgust.

“A referee and a linesman should see from that position it is a goalkick and not a corner,” added the Palace manager. “It’s disappointing and it’s hard not to feel bitter about it.

“I spoke to Massey afterwards and he said he saw it come off Alan Lee’s head, so he’s obviously a miracle man because it’s clearly come off Delfouneso’s head.

“He didn’t apologise, he only said he’ll take a look at it when he gets home. That’ll really help me and Crystal Palace won’t it?

“The referee had a great game. He was let down by somebody who had a very poor game and I don’t feel any sympathy if he is suspended. I said to him: ‘When you’re sat on your settee when you’re suspended will you think about us?’

“I don’t want to say any more because they’re probably listening at the disciplinary committee and I don’t want it to cost me any more money.”