Following Max Dowman’s incident during Saturday afternoon’s 3–3 draw between England Under-19s and Spain, supporters are calling for a referee to be removed. At just 15 years old, the Arsenal prodigy has already made headlines this season after coming off the bench in two Premier League games.
In the match against Leeds United, Dowman’s penalty kick put Viktor Gyokeres off the mark, adding to the impression that Hale End has created yet another gem. Naturally, therefore, there is an expectation of further protection when a rookie player makes his debut in the main team.
Pundits, managers, coaches, and fans all want to protect Dowman from the intense scrutiny of elite football. For instance, Gary Neville came under fire for merely speculating that the winger might have dived during Arsenal’s 5-0 victory against Leeds. A referee is currently under fire for permitting Dowman’s youthful Spanish opponent to repeatedly foul him without getting in trouble.
The referee in the England U19 3-3 Spain U19 match was criticised for his treatment of Dowman.
In just the first half, Dowman received ten fouls. Although Spain avoided any dismissals, many believed Davinchi, the left-back who was marking him, should have been given at least two yellow cards. Due to the high number of infractions, compilation movies that demonstrate how frequently Dowman was knocked down are even doing the rounds online. Watch the video below:
In an attempt to shield Arsenal’s rising star, supporters bombarded the referee with abuse on social media. After all, his job was to protect each participant on the pitch as well as to enforce the rules of the game. One X user commented, “That’s shameful refereeing,” and another added:
“It’s unbelievable that the left-back was still playing after all of that and only received a yellow card. Given how egregiously shameful his refereeing and vision are, that referee may really have a future with the PGMOL.
“This referee deserves a life ban,” a third person remarked, and a fourth added, “The referee has lost all control of the game to allow some of those to go unpunished.” Another said, “Given the way he’s being kicked and the referee’s lack of response to those situations, I hope his career doesn’t end before it began.” He must be safeguarded.
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