Dean Smith asked official if he ‘got juggling balls for Christmas’ as Aston Villa boss was sent off in Man City loss
DEAN SMITH accused the officials of being clowns and branded the offside rule “pathetic” after being sent off following Bernardo Silva’s opener.
The Aston Villa boss was booked for asking the fourth official if he got “juggling balls for Christmas” before getting a red for another sarcastic remark to ref Jon Moss.
Smith saw Rodri come from an offside position to tackle Tyrone Mings and tee up Bernardo for his 79th-minute strike.
By the letter of the law, the goal was right to stand and Ilkay Gundogan wrapped up the win with a contentious penalty.
But Smith blasted: “It’s farcical. He was ten yards offside. It’s a pathetic law and a pathetic decision.
“I’ve not seen a goal like that given. It needs to be looked at. I don’t think anyone in the stadium thought it was a goal.
“It was a poor performance from the officials and that’s cost us.”
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Refs were right... but many will not agree with law, says Halsey
By Mark Halsey
BERNARDO SILVA’S opener for Manchester City was hotly disputed but the officials got it correct.
Dean Smith and Aston Villa claimed Rodri was offside when he dispossessed Tyrone Mings in the build-up.
I’m sure many people do not agree with Law 11 in its current form. I have every sympathy with Smith because while the VAR decision by Andy Madley was technically correct, the law is an ass because I don’t feel it fits with the spirit of the game.
The law states a player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball has NOT gained an advantage.
So when Mings made a play and Rodri, who was two yards behind him, did not challenge, play was reset. When the City man went for the ball he was active in a different phase.
And the former Brentford manager reckons he is treated differently to other bosses.
The 49-year-old added: “Moss came over and gave me a yellow card, and he said ‘I was doing the laws of the game’, and I said ‘maybe you should have done it earlier in the game’, so he upgraded to the red.
“I’ve seen a lot of worse things be said to Jonathan Moss before and he’s not dealt with it like that before. He looked like he couldn’t wait to give me a yellow and then a red.
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“I think he has treated me differently to other managers, I don’t think any other managers get sent off for that.”
Smith watched from the director’s box as Gundogan’s penalty was awarded when the ball struck Matty Cash at close range.
And the ex-Brentford chief added: “He is a yard away. He can’t jump without his arms up. If that’s handball we might as well pack up.”