Rob not one for referee baiting
LUTON boss Rob Edwards has leapt to the defence of Premier League referees — days after VAR Stuart Attwell was accused of being a Hatters fan.
Nottingham Forest, locked in a relegation battle with Luton, made the startling claim on X after losing 2-0 at Everton on Sunday, when they were denied three penalties, as they saw it.
A cheeky Luton fan has prepared a banner for today’s clash declaring Attwell as “One of our own”.
But Edwards said of the attack on Attwell:
“It was strange and obviously it made headlines.
“From my point of view, mistakes are going to be made.
“It’s difficult — the game happens so quickly.
“There are always opinions.
“People see things slightly differently and we want as much consistency as possible — of course we do.
“But no-one in the game can question the integrity of our officials and who supports who.
“Luton have been brought into it and I understand why — we’re in the mix.
“I wouldn’t be able to ref. It’s such a difficult job. It’s tough.
“Mistakes can happen, people can feel aggrieved and maybe we should stick to that rather than question anything else.”
Survival
Edwards, who takes Luton to his former club Wolves today in search of survival points, added: “I completely understand why people get frustrated and concerned — we’re concerned and we’ve been frustrated with certain things.
“VAR has gone for and against us and you have to accept that.
“Because of VAR, more decisions are looked at and people look at mistakes in detail.
“Before the technology came in, people would have been more likely to accept those mistakes.
“But in the end we’ve all got to control what we can — and that’s our own performances.”
Luton wing-back Issa Kabore, on loan from Manchester City, will miss the rest of the season with ankle damage.
Striker Elijah Adebayo, out with a thigh injury since February, could be back soon.
“He’s pushing, but the Wolves match will be too soon,” said Edwards,