Jack Wilshere has admitted to being perplexed by many of the officials’ rulings during Luton Town’s important 2-1 victory over Peterborough United.
The Hatters kept their narrow playoff chances alive by defeating Posh, while sixth-placed Reading’s draw against Huddersfield Town reduced the gap to four points, with a game in hand for the Bedfordshire team.
Wilshere criticizes the refereeing performance
Despite the hosts’ triumph at Kenilworth Road, Wilshere highlighted the performance of debut referee Isaac Searle, who officiated his first-ever third-tier encounter on Good Friday.
Much of the post-match debate centered on the penalty given to Peterborough, which Josh Keeley saved after the referee judged the Irish goalkeeper to have fouled Harry Leonard.
In addition, the former Norwich City caretaker concentrated on the incident that resulted in Peterborough’s consolation goal, which Davy van den Berg claims had left the pitch previously, and a missed penalty appeal for Kasey Palmer in the final minutes.
The latter, which resulted in the Town manager being booked for his appeals, indicates that Wilshere will be unavailable for their Easter Monday away game against AFC Wimbledon after earning his third yellow card of the season.
When questioned by Luton Today about the game’s flashpoints, the 34-year-old said:
“(Asked if Posh should have been given a penalty) No, I think the reaction of the players, both sets of players, if they’re not appealing for it and our players are not kind of giving the ref a sneaky look, I think that tells you everything, but a bad decision in my opinion.
“I think it was an important moment in the game as you could feel in the crowd, the crowd didn’t think it was a penalty as well.
“There were so many decisions that weren’t the right ones. Honestly, I haven’t see that one back (the Peterborough goal) so I’m not talking about that one, I think about a few offsides that the linesman gave that weren’t offside as well, so disappointing, but Davy has to keep going.
“(On the penalty appeal) Again a bad decision. I don’t understand how it’s not a penalty? Again you look at the reaction of the players and he’s actually pulled Kasey down and interrupted his finish. He was going to score, so I don’t understand how that’s not a penalty.
“I need to speak to the staff and we need to come up with a process for Monday that works for us. It’s frustrating because it was a penalty and then if the penalty happens, I don’t get booked, but it is what it is.”
Odd Game For Decisions
Luton Town gave a strong and desperately needed display against a rejuvenated Peterborough United side on Good Friday, but sadly, the post-match debate has been focused on the officiating crew.
The penalty awarded to Peterborough was unquestionably strange, since Harry Leonard had already taken his shot and there was insufficient touch before Hakeem Odoffin’s goalline clearance.
While there may have been displeasure at the way Posh ultimately scored, the linesman’s decision must be respected, and equal blame must be attributed to Davy van den Berg for failing to play to the whistle, allowing Kyreece Lisbie the room to set up Jimmy-Jay Morgan’s goal.
Finally, Kasey Palmer and Luton should be outraged that they were not granted a late penalty after Archie Collins pulled their shirt, as this decision just adds to the belief that the referees were being unfair to Town.
Despite the fact that these events had some effect on Luton’s performance, they managed to pull off a significant victory against a strong team, and with many of the playoff-chasing pack playing each other in the next few weeks, it is a critical win in keeping their top-six chances alive.
