West Brom write to ref chiefs for clarity on decisions

The club are looking for clarity after a number of key decisions have gone against them this season, with the “accumulation” coming as a concern to head coach Carlos Corberan.

Corberan, who was particularly upset at St Andrew’s after the decision to award hosts Birmingham a penalty for an incident involving Cedric Kipre, lays no blame at the officials’ door and does not question their integrity.

He insists, however, key decisions in games – such as penalties, red cards and the like – should only be given without any doubt and where referees are completely clear. Albion have been stung in games at Blues, Bristol City, Watford and Blackburn.

Corberan wants fair decisions on both sides. He stressed he would not feel happy if his team won 1-0 courtesy of an unjust or unfair winner.

The head coach said: “I like football with the right decisions, I know it’s a very difficult job for the referees and I don’t ever have any doubt about the integrity of referees. I know how demanding his job is, how much pressure they have. Imagine trying to make the right decisions in front of the TV?

“The only thing that I like is the fair decision – if one wrong decision benefits me I’m not happy, I don’t want to win a game for one unfair decision or use the advantage, I wouldn’t be happy.

“I like to see football the most fair it can be, but sometimes this type of situation happen.

“It’s the accumulation of this type of decision that sometimes increases the disappointment that you have, because it is something our club has put contact with the right people to manage.

“Always there are wrong decisions in games, sometimes benefit you or sometimes not, but the impact and numbers of wrong decisions this year has been something to consider. We think it is important to analyse, a job for the club and right bodies to analyse this. I don’t talk about referees, I want to make the best games and make 1,000 mistakes, my players want to make the best games and we make mistakes, the referees want to make the best games and have mistakes.

“Sometimes the mistakes have impacts, sometimes they don’t. I thought the impact the other day was big in the game, this fact and the accumulation makes you upset.”

Clubs around the land have received apologies from refereeing chiefs over incorrect decisions and Albion have sought clarity from governing bodies.

Asked about what the club hope to have in response, Corberan replied: “(to) Help keep developing everyone to make the best decisions, fair decisions. What I would like in the next games is more fair decisions for every single team.

“It’s difficult even with VAR, so imagine without VAR?

“We want fair football, in the end it’s affecting too much the number of points you can achieve. It’s important to consider and review, to see the number of rights and wrong.

“We had penalties the referee didn’t whistle, in the last minutes at the games, (Josh) Maja at Bristol, (Darnell) Furlong at Watford, (Jayson) Molumby was different early in the second half at Blackburn – I understand to whistle a penalty you need to be sure.

“I accept because you need to be sure, and the referee wasn’t sure because it was too quick, sometimes there is someone in between the view, it increases the doubt not to whistle.

“To whistle you need to be sure, that is why the other day you feel the pain because you know the impact and the action had too much doubt. The incident affect you and the team a lot, it’s part of football, and our work, to beat the difficulty and frustration and keep going. We did in the second half, we competed better but couldn’t achieve the result.”