Clement offers official support for ref Taylor despite Swans penalty howler
PAUL Clement has revealed he called referees’ chief Mike Riley after the latest controversial decision to go against his side, but only to offer praise for Anthony Taylor.
Taylor has come in for heavy criticism after his blunder in Swansea City’s 3-2 win over Burnley last weekend.
The Manchester official awarded the Clarets a penalty at the Liberty Stadium, even though it was their own striker Sam Vokes who had handled the ball in the area.
Andre Gray went on to score from the spot, although Swansea were able to have the last word when Fernando Llorente rose to head home the winner in stoppage time.
Head coach Clement had seen his side denied a spot-kick against Chelsea the previous weekend when Kevin Friend overlooked a handball by Cesar Azpilicueta.
He was also frustrated by Manchester City’s winner at the Etihad where Luciano Narsingh was wrongly penalised and the resulting freekick taken from the wrong position as Gabriel Jesus gave the hosts victory.
Clement revealed he had spoken to Taylor at half-time of the Burnley game and has since phoned Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) boss Riley.
But the 45-year-old did not use the opportunity to criticise Taylor – who will take charge of the FA Cup quarter-final between Arsenal and Lincoln City tomorrow – instead telling Riley how highly he rated the 38-year-old.
“I actually called Mike Riley, but it wasn’t to have a go – actually on the contrary,” said Clement.
“Maybe I would have felt differently if the result had gone against us. It’s easier to do this kind of thing when you’ve won the game and the decision that hurt you didn’t hurt you as bad as it could have.
“I told Mike that Anthony had spoken to me at half-time and said that he called the decision in an honest way.
“I said to him: ‘I don’t think you would have done it in any other way, but the fact is you got it wrong and it’s a big decision.’ So, I was very disappointed.
“But I called Mike afterwards and said: ‘I don’t believe that he did anything different to calling it honestly, and he made a mistake and we can all do that.’ But I actually said: ‘I want you to tell him that I do think he’s a very good referee,’ because I think he is.
“I’ve come across him before, he referees in the Champions League. I think they’ve got a thankless task sometimes because the other thing is, not all players are honest. And with the speed of the game they can fool a referee into giving a decision.
“I don’t think that was necessarily the case in the games that we’ve had. But I think if you look at the two penalties for Barcelona against PSG, in my opinion looking at those, the one on Neymar is a penalty, Suarez cons the referee – that’s not a penalty.
“But the referee clearly thinks it is. He doesn’t have the help to be able to look back at that, he’s calling it in real time, so it’s very, very difficult.”
The furore over the decision has reignited the debate over the use of video technology in football.
The FA are looking to use video replays in next season’s FA Cup from the third round onwards.
Clement re-iterated his desire to see the process of implementing such measures speeded up, and also rejected the notion that referees should either publicly explain theor decisions or that Taylor should have been left witout a game this weekend in the wake of his error.
“With the technology that is available now, and I don’t think you are talking about massive cost in relative terms, but what it could cost a team, fighting for a title or a European place or to stay in the league, it’s massive,” he said.
“There is going to be a small delay in play when you use it, but no longer than it would take if the players are remonstrating about it or there is a booking to give out.
“By the time it all settles down, you can use that time to make the correct decision. It is clear what happened, what can anyone say? Get on with it.
“That’s why I think putting referees in front of cameras and the media would be harsh because they have not got the help they need.
“That was the only thing in the game (Anthony Taylor got wrong) if you are going to demote a referee it should be for a few mistakes.
“It is a bit like with a player, if a player makes a few mistakes you drop him. If he makes one error you would not drop him immediately, it is different if you make a series of errors.”