Following Blackburn Rovers’ most recent contentious ruling, Valerien Ismael attacked the caliber of Championship referees.
Despite pulling down Ryoya Morishita as the final man, Azor Matusiwa was only given a booking by Oliver Langford, which infuriated the head coach. Everyone in Ewood Park thought it was a red card.
It makes sense that Ismael dominated his press conference after the game by discussing the referee. Additionally, he hinted that Ipswich, a previous Premier League team, would be the target of favoritism.
“I am heartbroken for the boys,” Ismael said on BBC Radio Lancashire.
“It was a far better performance than the last one. Very strong, well-pressed, and forced mistakes. Excellent first half, followed by a good second half. We got guys back, and you can see the difference in our game.
“We gained the lead, and then we conceded another goal, which was quite difficult. We should be discussing three points and enjoying the interaction with the spectators, but tonight I can’t stop talking about the referee.
“Okay, enough is enough. We compiled a list of all the rulings made against us this season. The red card is disgraceful. It is dreadful. I can’t accept it.
“It’s a penalty for Yuki, and the final situation should be another corner for us. The caliber of refereeing in the Championship is appalling.
“Teams fighting for promotion spend a lot of money to play good football. Every game, every three days, is the same. The standard is quite poor.
“It’s terrible to witness the number of wrong decisions made against us. I accept the possibility of one or two decisions. That one with the red card is clear.
“Perhaps it’s because it was a previous Premier League club and they wanted to assist them. Nobody can understand. It’s a terrible decision, and I need to talk about it. It’s disgusting to witness that kind of performance.
“Nobody can understand and follow the decision-making from the referee.”
Ismael was accompanied by a list of Rovers grievances compiled over the season. Listening back, it’s difficult to argue that any of the complaints were wrong.
“No penalty at West Brom, Gudjohnsen at Watford,” he added.
“Charlton handball; no penalty. Swansea received no penalty. Preston, no red card for Whiteman. No penalty for Pape (Gueye). Wrexham, no foul by Hedges. Ipswich, a clear red card and a penalty for Yuki.
“It’s as easy as that; they need to execute their jobs. It’s too much. If you receive 10% of that, that’s about four points for us. Enough is enough.
“We need to talk, but they say the same after the game. ‘I didn’t notice anything’ or ‘Sorry for making a mistake’. What we want is to improve the standard and quality of the pitch.
“We need to perform. Everyone at the club, from the manager to the players. The referee must perform now because this situation cannot continue. “Enough with the red card today.”
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