Norwich City lost 2-0 at home to arch-rivals Ipswich Town on Saturday, in a contentious match at Carrow Road.
The visitors took the lead from the penalty spot when Anis Ben Slimane was judged to have tripped Jack Taylor, despite the contact appearing slight.
The Canaries were also annoyed that previous player Marcelino Nunez wasn’t dismissed, as he committed two offenses while on a booking that would have resulted in a second yellow card.
Philippe Clement and the Norwich bench were furious by Nunez’s escape from a harsher punishment, and the Belgian was booked on the recommendation of the fourth official. Kieran McKenna substituted the Chile international, despite the fact that he had only come off the bench in the second half.
Philippe Clement is likely to be the manager of Norwich City. suspension
Clement’s yellow card is a costly one for the former Rangers chairman, as it is the third he has received since his appointment, resulting in an automatic one-game touchline ban.
As a result, he will be watching from the stands when Norwich plays Roy Hodgson’s Bristol City at Ashton Gate next weekend.
However, it is safe to say that Clement was unhappy with the decision, as he told the Pink’Un why he had been booked, confirming that it was in response to the bench’s reaction rather than something he had done.
“I will be suspended for the following game, thus I will be unable to do my job next week. In a case when the fourth official stated that too many of my assistants stood up at that time, I was accountable for them, but it is impossible to lead a team while also being responsible for everything that happens behind me.
Philippe Clement’s rage is justified following Norwich City’s loss to Ipswich Town.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a manager booked for that. In over 30 years of football, I’ve always seen an assistant get booked in that situation, but never a manager, since it’s a difficult decision. I will be unable to perform my duties next week in the customary manner. It’s annoying. “
You can understand why Clement is unhappy with Anthony Backhouse following his handling of the East Anglian derby on Saturday.
The penalty decision appeared exceedingly severe, and the majority would agree that Nunez deserved a second yellow card for one of the fouls he committed while already booked.
If Clement’s account of events is accurate, he was unjustly treated with his own yellow card, which proved to be extremely expensive. In that case, you would anticipate the fourth official to clarify which assistant had gone too far, rather than singling out the manager.
Obviously, this does not diminish the fact that he has been booked twice before, so it is something Clement needs to monitor moving forward and work on his own discipline, as well as that of his coaching staff.
The derby game is very meaningful, so it was always going to be emotional, but Clement will now be in the stands when Norwich faces Bristol City, and, as he acknowledges, this limits what he can do, but it will not be an excuse if the team fails to recover from their defeat to Ipswich.
