Ipswich chairman reveals his text messages sent to referees’ chief Howard Webb DURING a game, before demanding crisis summit over VAR
Ipswich chairman Mark Ashton has revealed he called Howard Webb and demanded clarity from the referee’s chief after last weekend’s VAR drama.
The Tractor Boys have fallen victim to a number of controversial decisions in their first season in the Premier League, leaving them struggling to pick up points.
A penalty was awarded against Everton two weeks ago when Jack Clarke tripped before Michael Oliver overturned the decision after VAR intervention.
In the next match against Brentford they saw VAR overturn a free-kick decision and award the Bees a crucial penalty instead.
And in their recent 1-1 draw with Leicester, Ipswich were denied a seemingly blatant, obvious penalty after Conor Chaplin was robbed in the box by Abdul Fatawu in the 77th minute.
Ipswich chairman Mark Ashton (left) revealed he had called Howard Webb and demanded clarity from the referee’s chief after last weekend’s VAR drama
Against Leicester, Ipswich felt they should have been awarded a ‘stonewall’ penalty in the draw
Leicester’s Abdul Fatawu knocked out Ipswich striker Conor Chaplin in the penalty area
However, the referees waved away the cries for a penalty. Later in the match, Ipswich’s Kalvin Phillips was sent off for a second bookable offence, much to the dismay of the home fans.
Like the Ipswich fans, club chairman Ashton was outraged by the decision and revealed he had called referees chief Webb to discuss the matter.
Speaking on BBC Radio Suffolk’s The Blue Hour, he said: ‘I get frustrated and angry when things don’t go our way, but I felt real injustice on Saturday.
“And those who know me know that I care passionately about this football club and that I will breathe my last defending this football club. And I made that very, very clear to Howard Webb.
“I live in a world where I’m going to get sued if I say too much, so what I’m going to say to you is I’m getting on that track.
“But I’ve tried to be honest and open with this fanbase since the day I joined, so I’ll report on Saturday’s events.
Ashton revealed he quickly called Howard Webb to discuss the matter with the chef
Ashton insists he will meet Webb ‘at Portman Road this week’ to discuss VAR decisions
‘I messaged Howard when we were 1-0 up because I had an idea of how this was going to happen. I’ve been playing this game for a long time and I could feel it.
“I simply messaged him and said, ‘Look, can we talk straight after the game?’ We spoke straight after the match and part of that conversation has to remain private because I will eventually get charged, banned and eventually fined, and none of that will be a problem.
‘I saw former referees on international broadcasters today saying that it is not a penalty. You can’t be serious. Come on, don’t just support your former colleagues. It’s a stonewall punishment.”
Having already been the victim of controversial VAR decisions three times this season, Ashton insists his views on using the technology have changed.
“When we got promoted to the Premier League in the summer, I had never worked with VAR before so it was very new to me,” he continued.
‘And the Premier League presented to me why we should support the retention of VAR; Wolverhampton Wanderers had filed a petition to remove VAR.
‘We listened to Wolves and we listened to a number of other clubs and we listened mainly to the Premier League and based on what I was told we supported the Premier League’s decision.
‘And a key part of that was how high the bar would be set for overturning and overturning decisions, and at what point VAR became involved in the game.
Ipswich also felt so badly affected by VAR decisions against Everton and Brentford
“If I were asked to vote again tomorrow, I can’t look you in the eye and say I would vote the same way because I’m still angry, I’m still frustrated.
“All I’m looking for is consistency and right now I’m confused. I think as a coaching staff we are probably confused.
‘The highlight of that interesting, shall we say, conversation with Howard on Saturday evening is that we are meeting at Portman Road this week to discuss it, because we need answers, we need to understand.
“I can’t understand some of the decisions that were made, the decisions of the referees, and I’m struggling to understand why we didn’t get a penalty.”