Former Premier League referee Mike Dean has expressed severe disapproval of the failure to grant Birmingham City a penalty during the first half against Southampton.
Wayne Rooney’s team was experiencing a challenging first half, trailing by two goals scored by Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Carlos Alcaraz, and to be honest, they were rightfully down 2-0.
While there was some uncertainty regarding whether Harwood-Bellis was offside for his early header, there was absolutely no doubt about an incident that occurred in the 30th minute when Southampton’s goalkeeper, Gavin Bazunu, came out to collect a ball at the edge of his area and collided with Oliver Burke. Birmingham City appealed for a penalty, but referee David Webb declined to grant one.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Mike Dean heavily criticized the decision. He remarked, “It’s embarrassing, to be honest; it’s such a poor decision. The Birmingham player won the ball, and the goalkeeper just collided with him from behind.”
“It’s not even a difficult decision. As much as I dislike criticizing referees and officials, this is such a subpar decision. It’s such an easy call to make. The goalkeeper was nowhere near the ball, Jutkiewicz [Burke] won the header, and he was simply wiped out. It’s a clear penalty. That’s just fundamental refereeing. It’s such a poor decision, and it’s infuriating,” Dean added.
Pundit Emile Heskey, a former Blues striker, concurred, saying, “It’s also dangerous and reckless. He’s out of control, nowhere near the ball, and endangering an opponent. I can’t see any reason not to award that.”
Birmingham City was on their way to a third consecutive defeat under Wayne Rooney.
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