Close menu

Andy Carroll: Bad refereeing calls cost West Ham against Leicester

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments431

Referee tried to even things up - Andy Carroll

West Ham striker Andy Carroll says referee Jonathan Moss tried to "even things up" by awarding Leicester City an injury-time penalty on Sunday.

Moss penalised Carroll when Leicester's Jeffrey Schlupp went down in the area, allowing Leonardo Ulloa to convert from the spot to make it 2-2.

The Hammers were awarded a penalty earlier in the game when Wes Morgan pulled back Winston Reid.

Carroll accused Moss of giving "bad decisions" throughout the game.

More from BBC Sport
'Mind-boggling inconsistencies': Pundits on Moss
Who is in Garth Crooks' team of the week?
Late on and left-footed - how Messi reached 500 goals
Watch MOTD3 as the relegation battle hots up

"It's not acceptable," said the former Liverpool and Newcastle United frontman. "Week in, week out, we've had bad decisions.

"I mean, it is a bad decision. It's not the first time and probably won't be the last. I think he's trying to even it up and a lot of people have said that."

Moss also sent off Foxes striker Jamie Vardy, handing him a second yellow card for diving in the box.

The England international had opened the scoring for the Premier League leaders before Carroll levelled from the spot following Morgan's foul on Reid.

Vardy reacts angrily to his red card in the 56th minute
Vardy reacts angrily to his red card in the 56th minute

Aaron Creswell then gave the visitors the lead before Ulloa salvaged a point for Leicester to move them eight points clear of second-placed Tottenham, who travel to Stoke on Monday night.

Carroll claims the Hammers would have been occupying a Champions League spot had decisions gone their way this season.

Instead, they are sixth, three points behind Manchester United and seven adrift of Arsenal in fourth

"We could be third and flying," said Carroll. "Now we're still fighting for fourth, fifth spot and we're slipping down by losing these points.

"It is just disappointing and there's nothing we can do about it."

Leicester penalty hard to explain - Bilic

Hammers boss Slaven Bilic added: "It was no penalty. We are gutted, but I am happy with the way we came back."

Leicester will be without Vardy for next weekend's home game with Swansea, with the player due to serve a one-match ban for his red card.

He could also face additional Football Association action for confronting Moss after being dismissed, jabbing his finger towards the official.

Comments

Join the conversation

These comments are now closed.

431 comments

  • Comment posted by SAC1990, at 06:52 18 Apr 2016

    Players diving, feigning injury and brandishing imaginary cards to try and get opponents sent off isn't acceptable. But we don't even call it cheating any more, it's "simulation", "professionalism" and "gamesmanship."

    But sure, let's pick on the referees, not those trying to con them week in week out...

  • Comment posted by User0491322404, at 07:10 18 Apr 2016

    It's always a bit rich when players come out and criticise refs, given that many of them spend so much time on the pitch trying to con and intimidate them.

  • Comment posted by Yage, at 06:41 18 Apr 2016

    It's inconsistency which annoys people. I would love to see diving and holding stamped out but then it needs to be a foul EVERY time.

  • Comment posted by John_from_Hendons hypocritic oath, at 07:51 18 Apr 2016

    The one lingering memory I have from watching on MOTD last night was the utter disrespect for the referee from Jamie Vardy.

    Would not be tolerated on a rugby pitch, but then, that's where real men behave, not overpaid, tantrum-prone petulant little boys who believe their own hype.

    And to think kids see these excuses for men as heroes.

    Depressing.

  • Comment posted by J , at 07:14 18 Apr 2016

    Moss did the best with a bunch of cheats, on both sides. Argy bargy is to be expected. But diving & putting your arm(s) 'round another player or clutching his shirt should be, if not seen during the match, retrospectively penalised (bans). Moss's relatively poor reffing was the sympton. The cause was the players overboard, blatant cheating. It needs sorting.

  • Comment posted by naigib, at 06:50 18 Apr 2016

    Get the rugby referees in and this nonsense in the box at corners and free kicks would be stopped very shortly - as would chasing after the ref to challenge decisions.

  • Comment posted by Teddington Cat, at 06:37 18 Apr 2016

    In any close sports contest, luck plays a part. Referees are pros trying to do their best, frustrating as it is, sometimes the decisions go against u

    To improve football game would be easy:
    1) punish surrounding the ref by moving ball 10 yards nearer goal
    2) review diving incidents after the game and punish if missed in game
    3) give penalties for all pointless wrestling at corners

  • Comment posted by D1679497054384, at 07:22 18 Apr 2016

    How many times has Carroll either cheated and got away with it or had a dubious decision go in his favour ? Did he complain when he did get the rub of the green ? Of course not. Man up and shut up. Or stop playing the game

  • Comment posted by TDF, at 07:29 18 Apr 2016

    Players should not be allowed to crowd round the referee after a decision is given. A foul in the box should be treated the same as a foul outside the box. Keep it simple, if it means games finish 6 each then so be it. The refs don't stand a chance in the current environment. All other sports allow the referee to do the job, why is football different.

  • Comment posted by User0337574307, at 08:21 18 Apr 2016

    I agree with the "pundits" - Vardy dived.

    What annoys me, is that these same pundits watch similar incidents from big clubs (especially big European clubs) and comment that "contact was made - therefore it is a penalty" and "clever play from the striker".

    If it was cheating by Vardy (which it was) then it is also cheating when superstars from the big clubs do it.

  • Comment posted by beachaddict, at 06:35 18 Apr 2016

    The sooner we get technology in place to help the ref, the better.

    It'll never be perfect though and will bring its own issues.

  • Comment posted by charlieboy, at 08:04 18 Apr 2016

    Football needs to take leaf out of rugby's book. Referees a lot firmer which makes it a cleaner game than football which is rife with diving and backchat. No one but captain is allowed to speak to the ref and then for the ref to explain decisions. Foul play happens but it's not all over the shop like football is. Football is rotten to its core, who would be a referee these days?

  • Comment posted by User0826184885, at 08:03 18 Apr 2016

    This makes me laugh, footballers who cheat their way to anything complaining about the ref. Two Faced overpaid prima donnas

  • Comment posted by Raedwulf, at 07:59 18 Apr 2016

    @62 - Nonsense! If the referees did punish every instance, especially if they dished out yellows, it would soon stop! There is a vast difference between body contact and raising your arms to push, pull, shirt-tug, or hug. Body contact, bustling & hustling, fine - I did all of that as a Sunday morning footballer. It was legal. The rest of it - deliberate cheating (don't call it "professionalism")!!

  • Comment posted by Stefan Nonsense, at 09:44 18 Apr 2016

    TV pundits continually say "there was contact and he was entitled to go down there". That word 'entitled' sums up everything that's wrong. Only when the players learn the difference between "going down" (cheating) and "being brought down" (being fouled) will referees, and the game itself, have any chance.

  • Comment posted by NeilH, at 07:49 18 Apr 2016

    Punish all fouls, outside and inside the penalty area. IF it means you initially have to give three or four penalties, then so be it. The pulling and pushing would soon stop.......

  • Comment posted by Jay-Zed, at 11:02 18 Apr 2016

    Scenarios I am beginning to loathe -

    Yellow cards not being given because it's "early in the game" - a foul is a foul?

    Difference in whether decisions are given because it happens outside/inside the penalty area - a foul is a foul?

    Players credited for not diving - Not cheating now worthy of praise?

  • Comment posted by More Like It, at 08:02 18 Apr 2016

    Not sure why Vardy was so angry at the ref - maybe it was just the embarassment at being caught diving.

  • Comment posted by Brian, at 08:53 18 Apr 2016

    Just the contradicting comments on this HYS prove how difficult it is to referee a game and get every decision right. People are disagreeing on here even with the benefit of replays so imagine how difficult it is to make a decision in a split second. If there wasn't the play acting and diving in the first place, a referee would have a much easier job.

  • Comment posted by User0290366754, at 07:46 18 Apr 2016

    Many people, including managers, are under the mistaken impression that if there is any kind of contact in the penalty area, the attacker has the 'right' to go down & the ref has no choice but to award a pen. No!

    It's up to the REF to decide 1) how much contact there was 2) whether it was enough to bring the attacker down & 3) who CAUSED the contact, the attacker or the defender. Tough job.

Top Stories

Elsewhere on the BBC