Ref justice

Bournemouth ..... 1 Wolves ..... 1 KING GETS ROGER OUT OF A SPOT WITH PEN MISS

JOSHUA KING let ref Roger East off the hook – well, partially – by failing to convert a late penalty that should never have been given.

The official had already awarded two spot-kicks, one tucked home by King and another put away by Raul Jimenez.

And both of those were debatable. But if East has watched a replay of the third his heart will have sunk at his blunder.

Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser picked the ball up near the Wolves area but had not moved very far by the time substitute Ivan Cavaleiro took him out.

East, who was well placed, decided that he had gone far enough to get inside the box but replays showed he clearly had not.

Thankfully for the whistler, King saw his second penalty hit the foot of a post and the fact that the game ended in a draw softened the controversy.

But the award was the sort which will only heighten the “told you so” arguments from the VAR brigade. While the first two, plus an appeal for handball by Bournemouth’s Chris Mepham in the first half which was not given, would all have had a 50-50 split.

It might have been different if King had converted and his side had been beaten, but Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo did not want to get dragged into the debate.

“Let’s not speak about VAR,” he said. “I know where you are going but it’s so tough, the task of the referee.

“I didn’t see the images yet, which is good because now I have an excuse.

“But I am always supportive of the referees because it’s so tough.”

Asked what his players had told him about the third penalty, he added: “You cannot judge because players sometimes they are not so honest.

“So let’s not go this way. Of course, they say it wasn’t, so I must see it.” He can take them at their word on this occasion.

Wolves were the brighter side in the first half with Dioga Jota a threat down the left but Bournemouth went into the break ahead thanks to King’s well-taken penalty after Joao Moutinho had been adjudged to have fouled the Norwegian.

Moutinho was furious at the decision and replays showed he had got a toe to the ball.

Bournemouth were better after the break and it took a good save from Rui Patricio to deny Dominic Solanke.

And they nearly doubled their lead again when Jordon Ibe’s fine shot rattled Patricio’s crossbar.

Wolves looked to be heading for defeat until Adam Smith brought down Matt Doherty and Jimenez calmly stroked his penalty home in the 83rd minute.

But just a minute later, East had his moment of madness and King got another chance which he could not take.

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe said: “Ryan’s was probably outside the box but I haven’t seen the decisions again. The first one I saw something, a tangle of legs.

“The one that I probably have the biggest opinion on is their penalty – you rarely see them given.

“Adam has committed to his challenge and Doherty has got his shot away.

“I really wasn’t expecting a penalty to be given.

“Arguably if it’s outside the box I have seen fouls given for those things.

“But inside the box, usually if the attacker gets a shot, rarely is a foul given for that.”

On VAR, he added: “Initially I was very, very hesitant. But now when I’ve seen VAR and the longer I have been involved in it, it’s probably a good thing.”