Gary O’Neil has made a pretty big accusation towards Premier League referees, claiming they are biased towards the big six teams in the division, but unconsciously so. The manager was left incensed after his Wolverhampton Wanderers side were dealt a crushing blow against Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s men won the fixture 2-1 on Sunday afternoon, but they were made to work hard for the result and it wasn’t until the 95th minute when John Stones headed the ball home from a corner that they actually took the lead. Wolves had gone in front early, before Josko Gvardiol equalised before half-time. From there, the Cityzens piled pressure on their opponents, but O’Neil’s side managed to stand firm until the final stages.
Controversy arose with Stones’ winning goal, however, when Bernardo Silva was caught in an offside position shortly before the Englishman found the back of the net. The City midfielder interacted with Jose Sa in goal, but had moved away by the time Stones headed the ball. As a result, it was deemed he didn’t interfere with play and the effort was allowed to stand after a VAR check. The Wolves manager wasn’t happy with the decision at all and spoke to the media about it after the fact.
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John Stones’ powerful header in added time saw Manchester City march to the summit of the Premier League.
O’Neil Claimed Referees Were Biased
He thinks it’s unconscious bias
Speaking to the media after the match, O’Neil shared his frustration with referee Chris Kavanagh’s decision. He admitted he didn’t think decisions were purposely going against his team, but he did question whether there is an unconscious bias among the officials when it comes to the big six sides in the Premier League. As quoted by Daily Mail, he said:
“There is no chance that people are doing things against Wolves on purpose. But is there something in the subconscious? Are you more likely to give it to Man City than Wolves. My senses are heightened when we’re against Pep. Are the officials the same?
“They guarantee me there isn’t [bias] but they are human. Maybe there is something subconscious that means we’re less likely to get them. If I had to upset someone in a street and there was a little guy and a big guy, I’m upsetting the little guy. Nothing against little guys. But there is something in there and they [referees] definitely don’t do it on purpose.”
To strengthen his argument, O’Neil went on to highlight a similar incident, but with a very different result, that his side was also on the wrong side of last year.
“What sprung to me quickly was the West Ham game last year. We sent clear evidence he wasn’t in the line of vision of the goalkeeper. The reason we were told it was disallowed is proximity. Silva doesn’t end up in his line of vision, but he can’t get much closer. I was hoping the same reasoning would be used to disallow it.”
With Wolves currently rooted at the bottom of the Premier League, they can’t afford too many of these decisions to go against them. Fortunately for O’Neil, he can at least take solace in the fact that he won’t have to face a big six side again until Wolves take on Manchester United on Boxing Day.
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