Royals boss slams ref over ‘stonewall penalty’

Reading manager Brian McDermott was disappointed with referee Michael Oliver’s decision to not given Adam Le Fondre a penalty in injury time against Stoke on Saturday.

In the dying seconds of the game at the Britannia on Saturday, Le Fondre had appeared to have been impeded by a leg of a Stoke defender, but the 27-year old referee decided not to give it. The 2-1 defeat has now put the Royals back in the relegation zone, after Aston Villa were victorious over West Ham at Villa Park yesterday.

Speaking after his sides defeat to Stoke on Saturday, McDermott told the Official Reading FC website that: ‘It’s a stonewall penalty. Alfie is gutted, he came straight in and said it was a pen. I’ve been in to see the referee, unfortunately he hasn’t given it. It’s last kick of the game, you have to give it.’

‘It doesn’t matter what the ref said to me because I respect a conversation that takes place in private. I knew at the time it was a penalty, it hasn’t gone our way but I’m really disappointed because I felt we deserved something. As a manager sometimes you just have to move on when decisions don’t go your way.’

It’s hard to say whether that is a concrete penalty on Alf or not. I would not call it a dive, rather making the most of the contact, which Reading’s previous number 9, Shane Long, was very good at. Either way, we can’t complain too much, all we can do is move onto the next game against Wigan, which will be crucial for us.