Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola was left seething with referee Matt Donohue following their defeat to Brentford. Despite Dominic Solanke finding the back of the net in the 2-1 loss, he also had two goals disallowed by the match officials.
“I finished very angry with the referee, obviously,” expressed Iraola. “Very disappointed. Because I think we scored two goals in the first half, that should be allowed.”
The frustration for Iraola stems from a series of decisions that have gone against his team in recent matches. “We are coming from the last games with decisions that have all gone against us,” he explained. “All the decisions since we are safe have gone against us.”
Iraola highlighted two key moments that left him particularly aggrieved. “The first goal, they called a handball that comes from a rebound,” he said. “According to the rules, it’s not on purpose, it’s a rebound, he (Semenyo) cannot do anything. He is not the one scoring the goal, because if he scores the goal, I understand with the rules it has to be disallowed, even if it is not on purpose.”
“But there is a pass, it is another play and then the VAR only intervenes when it is clear and obvious, like they told us last week against Arsenal. He decides to intervene.”
“The second one is even worse because he doesn’t even give VAR the chance to correct, because we score the goal one or two seconds after calling a foul,” Iraola continued. “Even if the VAR sees in the replay it is not a foul, they have no chance to overturn it because he has whistled before scoring.”
These mistakes, according to Iraola, have significant consequences for his team. “They take points and positions in the table from us,” he lamented. However, he also acknowledged that he doesn’t expect anything to change.
When asked about his booking, Iraola admitted, “Because I was complaining, obviously. Of course, I deserved a yellow card because I had to complain.”
He expressed his disappointment with the inconsistency and incorrect decisions made by referees. “Every week there is a moment your players, your club, everyone is losing points, losing games because they are not taking the correct decisions and they are not consistent with their interventions.”
In conclusion, Iraola’s frustration with the referee’s decisions and their impact on his team’s performance was evident. The Bournemouth boss expressed his disappointment and dissatisfaction with the current state of officiating in the game.
