GRACIA IN LINESMAN RAP OVER TROY RED
John Smith’s Stadium, 3pm JAVI GRACIA has accused linesman Richard West of “confusing” referee Craig Pawson and getting Troy Deeney sent off.
Watford’s appeal against Deeney’s 11th-minute red card in the home defeat by Arsenal, for swinging his forearm into Lucas Torreira’s face, has been rejected and the FA Cup finalists’ captain must serve a three-match ban.
But Hornets head coach Gracia, always respectful of officials in public, is still baffled by the decision.
Former Premier League chief Keith Hackett was scathing, tweeting: “I am not going to comment on Craig Pawson’s performance Watford v Arsenal. If that is the standard the PGMOL are happy with, then so be it.”
And former Arsenal assistant manager Pat Rice, also an ex-Watford captain, described Deeney’s expulsion as “very, very harsh.”
Gracia, who confronted West at half-time, believes the assistant’s intervention played a major part in Deeney’s third red-card ban in 18 months.
He said: “I have seen the game again and it does not change my opinion – I do not agree with the decision and it was not a red card.
“The club appealed the decision and we have lost.
“The linesman confused the referee with his conversation. From my angle it wasn’t an aggression.
“He was competing honestly, trying to recover the ball, and it’s true there was contact with the arm, but nothing else – no elbow.
“But now we must prepare to play at Huddersfield without Troy.”
Gracia, whose refusal to hammer referees on a weekly basis has been a refreshing departure from the Premier League’s blame culture, stopped short of claiming Deeney was unfairly singled out because of his infamous ‘cojones’ dig at Arsenal.
He added: “I trust all the referees, and they make their decisions thinking they are fair in the moment.
“I don’t believe they are thinking whether it is one player or another.
“You might see different moments, different players and different decisions, and you see how they were treated, but I prefer to think of them in a good way.”