Wolves boss Julien Lopetegui thinks that Newcastle keeper Nick Pope should’ve been given a red card and Wolves a subsequent penalty
Referee Andy Madley was once again at the center of controversy after denying Wolverhampton Wanderers a “very, very clear penalty” during their 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United, according to manager Julen Lopetegui.
Wolves have a history of feeling hard done by refereeing decisions, including a disallowed goal for offside against Liverpool in the FA Cup at Anfield in January, which they believe was an injustice.
Madley was the referee in charge of that match as well, with Wolves denied a winning goal, resulting in a 2-2 draw, and Liverpool eventually winning the replay 1-0 at Molineux.
Lopetegui has not forgotten the January incident and was unhappy with Wolves being denied a penalty in their recent game against Newcastle at St James’ Park.
Lopetegui feels aggrieved by ref Madley
During the game, Wolves’ striker Raul Jimenez was seemingly brought down by Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope, who had taken a poor touch and given away the ball.
Lopetegui said afterwards: “It’s true that, for me, it was a very, very clear penalty for us. We are very unlucky with the referee. This is a pity for us.
“It doesn’t matter what I think. The more important thing is that this is true that we have suffered a big mistake a lot of matches ago at Liverpool, and for me [Sunday’s incident] was a penalty, but the VAR can’t help in this case the referee. We were very unlucky with the decision. We didn’t have a penalty since I arrived here.”
Newcastle United took the lead in the first half through Alexander Isak’s header, but Wolves managed to level the score in the 70th minute with a goal from Hwang Hee-chan. However, they were unable to maintain their defensive shape and conceded a goal to Miguel Almiron in the 79th minute.
Howe said: “I didn’t think it was a penalty at the time. You might say I was biased, but I didn’t. I thought it was Jimenez going down before the contact was made, that was my initial assessment.”
Almiron, who came on as a sub to score the winner, delighted Howe with his contribution off the bench, having been a regular starter up to now.
“Not that he necessarily needed to give a response, it was a case of us just trying to freshen him up,” Howe said. “It’s an outstanding season that he’s had, he’s contributed in lots of different ways, and you see the work rate he gives every week. He made a massive impact, and I’m delighted for him.”
