- Roberto De Zerbi expressed his irritation at Brighton’s draw against Sheffield United
- Mahmoud Dahoud’s rash dismissal in the second half gave the visitors the advantage
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Roberto De Zerbi raged that he doesn’t like ’80 per cent of Premier League referees’ after his 10-man Brighton side were held to a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United.
Simon Adingra had given the home side the lead after a solo run at the Amex Stadium before Mahmoud Dahoud’s red card changed the shape of the game.
The send-off came after midfielder Dahoud stamped on Ben Osborn’s ankle, opening the door for the Blades to level following Adam Webster’s own goal.
De Zerbi, now in his longest run without a league win at Brighton, was shown a yellow card for his touchline protests and took aim at the officiating post-match.
Although he did not disagree with John Brooks’ decision to sack Dahoud, De Zerbi said: ‘I am honest and clear… I don’t like 80 percent of English referees.
Roberto De Zerbi raged that he doesn’t like ’80 percent’ of Premier League referees
Zerbi’s Brighton squad were reduced to 10 men during the 1-1 draw against Sheffield United
‘That is not a new opinion. I do not like them. I don’t like their behavior on the field.
‘England is the only country where, if there is VAR, you cannot be sure whether the decision is correct. In other countries you have to be 100 percent sure that the decision made is correct. Not in England, and I can’t understand it.’
VAR Chris Kavanagh agreed with Brooks’ assessment and the red card was upheld, although De Zerbi’s main complaint was his side’s reaction after the blow.
“We are in an unfortunate period,” De Zerbi added. “I think we lost four points; two against Fulham and two today.
‘After the red card I didn’t like the team.
‘There was no contest until the red card. There was only one team on the field. We could have won the game by two or three nil, but after the red card the game changed.
Mahmoud Dahoud was dismissed by referee John Brooks after attacking Ben Osborn
The visitors made their lead count and an own goal from Adam Webster secured a point
‘After the red card we can say other things, but because of the situation with one player less we have lost order and our style.’
The result lifted the visitors from the bottom of the table but boss Paul Heckingbottom has described the milestone as ‘irrelevant’ at this early stage of the season.
‘It’s not relevant – maybe it’s important to get off the bottom because people keep mentioning it, but it doesn’t bother me. Not yet,” Heckingbottom said.
‘It’s nice that we played against a good team.
‘It’s always about the points. I can give many reasons why we haven’t taken more points this season, but until you get them they are just excuses.’