Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson labelled referee Alex Chilowicz ‘an actor’ after he sent off Harley Mills during Sunday’s 3-1 League One home defeat at the hands of Barnsley. The 19-year-old full-back was sent off 10 minutes from time for a challenge on Barnsley’s Stuart O’Keefe. Posh had just dragged themselves back into the game at 2-1. Replays showed clear contact from Mills, but his foot was on the floor. Ferguson described it as a ‘yellow card at worst’ and the decision to show a red as ‘embarrassing.’ If Posh can not get the dismissal overturned, Mills will miss three matches, leaving Jack Sparkes as the club’s only fit senior left-back. Ferguson did not, however, think much to the chances of success at appeal. Ferguson was also displeased at the referee’s general demeanour during the game and expressed frustration at his own yellow card, picked up for stepping outside of his technical area, something he accused the Barnsley coaching staff of doing far more often. He was also frustrated with the failure to show a yellow card for the penalty that led to Posh’s goal. Emmanuel Fernandez was pushed over in the box as he attempted to head home a corner. It was not clear who the offender was in a crowded box, but Ferguson felt it should have been a second booking. The only Barnsley on a caution at that time was centre-back and goalscorer Donovan Pines. Barnsley media believed Conor McCarthy was the culprit. “This referee is an actor an actor. He just runs around like an actor. We get a penalty. Manny is going to head it into an open goal. The lad has been booked but he doesn’t book him again because he says there’s no intent to stop a goal. They just make it up. “I’m used to getting booked now in my career. I wonder why I get booked, I think I know. Their coaching staff were doing far worse than me in terms of going over the line. It’s the third time I’ve been booked this season for going over my line. it’s so tight at this place but he just allowed them to do it and obviously wanted me to get booked.”
Jesus he’s that far out he doesn’t even realise the guy he wants sent off is a different skin colour to the guy that the foul was given against. Deluded. Your dad’s a lovely person and so are you
According to something I’ve seen from a Posh fan, Ferguson thinks it was Pines who was done for the penalty. It was obviously Conor. And to my mind, it’s a very harsh call. Yes, there’s hands and contact, but not to the degree it sends the other player over in the manner he fell. He also wasn’t getting anywhere near the cross. So, Ferguson is upset that Pines wasn’t sent off (wrong player), because his player was about to score an open goal (he wasn’t) as his team earned a penalty that was dubious at best. Which they scored. Not a great day for him. Give it a year and a lot of those players will have good experience under them, and Posh will be a different animal. They’ve a tonne of cash from the sale of Burrows that keeps them ticking over too. And I imagine Poku will go for a fair chunk in the summer. However, they’re hovering above the drop zone, so let’s hope old Darren can start seeing things a little more clearly moving forward or Grant McCann will be back in charge of their job share.
Burrows & Edwards both sold mate. Got about the same for each, around 2.5-3 million. Should imagine they'll have a nice sell on clause too. So they should definitely have a nice little pot, though they did spend almost 2 and a half mill on transfers themselves. I still chuckle when Darragh says he turned down 8 mill for Edwards the season previous though
I’d forgot about Edwards. Barely had any minutes at Southampton. Waste of young talent. Should be on loan somewhere.
Agree mate. Would have bought him and loaned him straight to a championship club, failing that a top end league one club, though I'd imagine a fair few championship clubs would have taken him
"Stuart O'Keeffe". I've said it once and I'll say it again, the camera man was closer to getting a header on that corner ball that led to the penalty. It was nearly in orbit! I just think he's a wind up merchant like his old man. I suppose it's entertaining in some ways
Having seen the sending off from another angle, it was a ludicrous decision. Possibly a yellow. Looked much worse on the main view shown on the highlights, but even then I thought it was harsh. As for the pen - if that's a foul, we should literally be given a penalty every time we have a corner.
In fairness, I listened to the game on Radio Sheffield and both Adam Oxley and Mark Smith said it was Pines, though neither knew what the penalty had been given for.
The sending off should surely get overturned on appeal. I know the FA notoriously back the ref. Not high, studs down, not that late, not a red. You can't lunge in and miss the ball by that margin and not get a yellow and stern talking to but it's never seen a sending off. However, the angle of attack meant it swept O'Keeffe over in spectacular fashion which, as we all know from Wembley, can be enough to see red cards brandished in error.
It was reckless and definitely late. It’s a definite yellow sometimes red. I will be amazed if it’s overturned on appeal. Though as it’s Fergie I suppose it might be
I thought it was a very harsh red myself. But the interesting thing is that, having read the match thread on the posh forum, they seem split down the middle on it themselves. Plenty saying it was a red card. This is funny though, about Fergie's rant. So, at first view, he thought it was a red, same as the ref. Forgetting that the ref has to make the call based on one view and he would have made the same call. And only after, he thinks it's embarrassing.
I don't think it's a sending off, the penalty, we'd be moaning if we didn't get it as it looked like a push and i do believe there was a foul leading up to our third, right in front of the ref as well, however, we've had enough decisions go against us and i thought the ref had a steady game. Unlucky Darren. COYR
Just how I saw it too, the lad knows he’s in bother with his immediate reaction of raising his hands too…….a think O’Keefe kinda lured him into the challenge, definite yellow but as you say sometimes a red too, the referee was in perfect sight of the incident
