Julen Lopetegui claimed he could write a book on the officiating the howlers that have cost Wolves but has decided to start a new chapter… the Spaniard knows his players need to focus on what they can control before a decisive clash in Nottingham Forest.
- Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui plans to put a series of refereeing errors behind him
- Despite earlier apologies, the team ended up on the wrong end of VAR calls.
- Wolves face a season-defining test at Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon
Julen Lopetegui said he could write a book about the refereeing howling his team has suffered this season, but the Wolves manager has decided it’s time to start a new chapter.
As they prepared for a potentially season-defining game at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Lopetegui called a meeting with his players at their training ground in Compton, on the outskirts of Wolverhampton.
Wolves can’t be blamed for feeling like the world is against them. They were on the wrong end of the game-changing VAR calls in the losses to Newcastle and Leeds before the international break, and were already frustrated with referees over decisions in Cup matches against Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
Refereeing chief Howard Webb spent 90 minutes with Lopetegui in Compton in January and has apologized more than once to the Spaniard for his mistakes in Wolves games.
After Leeds’ 4-2 win at Molineux on 18 March, manager Edu Rubio and club secretary Matt Wild walked through Michael Salisbury’s door after seeing Jonny Otto and Matheus Nunes sent off, though Nunes’s red card was overturned on appeal.
Julen Lopetegui says he will leave his anger behind the refereeing errors against Wolves
Howard Webb apologized to Lopetegui for refereeing errors in January, but more followed
However, Lopetegui has determined that the Wolves must make a clean slate. He believes his team will have a better chance of staying in the top flight if they forget the perceived injustices of the past and simply focus on what lies ahead.
There is a feeling in the game that the way Wolves play in matches – Lopetegui and captain Rubén Neves can be particularly demonstrative when they feel a decision is wrong – can work against them. It will be interesting to see if there is any change in his behavior at the City Ground, the scene of one of Wolves’ most volatile games this season.
The club was fined £45,000 for its part in the brawl that followed Forest’s victory on penalties in the Carabao Cup quarter-final, when former Wolves player Morgan Gibbs-White celebrated provocatively in front of away fans, angering his former teammates. .
Lopetegui was branded ‘unprofessional’ for approaching Gibbs-White, while striker Matheus Cunha was also reprimanded for his role in the fight. Now Wolves are back for a much bigger game: they are three points above the relegation zone, with Forest a point below them, and they cannot afford any distractions.
“Maybe we can all do better for sure,” Lopetegui acknowledged. ‘Each of us chooses how to live our life and do our work, of course.
We can all improve, sure, me too. But it is important to be yourself: always on the pitch and as a coach off it, respecting the opponent.
Lopetegui’s Wolves face a decisive match against Nottingham Forest this Sunday
‘I must manage or translate my feelings, that is always my thought, because it is better for my team.
‘The most important thing is to respect the referee, respect the opponent, always. I advise my players to show passion, feel the passion, but always try to be calm and balanced.
‘[Refereeing decisions] they are not under our control and yes, I have spoken to the players. We have focused on how we are going to defend, how we are going to play, how we are going to press. These are the things we can handle.
It feels like the right approach for Lopetegui. Let’s see if he can keep it after the first controversial call against Forest.