Lay off referees, Hodgson tells Zaha

ROY HODGSON has told Wilfried Zaha to move on from his scathing criticism of referees, even if he understands the Palace winger’s ‘strong sense of justice’. Zaha (below) claimed he would need to have his leg broken before a red card was shown after Huddersfield’s Mathias Jorgensen was given only a yellow for a crunching challenge on him last week. But manager Hodgson, who has spoken to Zaha, 25, about his comments, says he must put his frustrations behind him. ‘Wilf is a person who has a strong sense of justice,’ said Hodgson ahead of today’s visit of Newcastle. ‘He’s like all players of exceptional ability, they need to be looked after that extra bit, especially because they are the people we at Crystal Palace want to win us games. ‘They are also the people the public want to see. But as far as I am concerned we put a lid on this one.’ Zaha has been booked three times this season for retaliation. Along with Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, Zaha is the most fouled player in the Premier League this year. Hodgson added: ‘Wilf is mature enough and good enough to know fouls are part of the business but we all hope our best players will be protected.’ Zaha has scored three goals in four league games for Palace. Hodgson wants him to use the fouls as motivation to score more goals. Rafa Benitez, manager of today’s opposition Newcastle, said he doesn’t expect referee Andre Marriner to be swayed by Zaha’s plea for more protection. ‘Someone at the FA has to say to Zaha, “That’s something you don’t need to say”,’ said Benitez. The Spaniard delivered his latest brutal assessment of the task facing Newcastle this season, claiming it would be a great achievement just to avoid relegation. He added to the air of despondency in the wake of a winless start that leaves Newcastle second-bottom of the table with one point from their first five games. He said: ‘To finish 10th last season was a miracle and that raised expectations, but we knew it could be more difficult this time, partly because of the spending power of some of the teams who won promotion. We have to be sure everyone understands the situation.’ The downbeat mood isn’t helped by doubts over Benitez’s future, with little progress made on extending the manager’s contract, which expires in eight months. His relationship with owner Mike Ashley is strained after another summer of under-investment and Benitez added: ‘It’s obvious to everyone that we have to do things another way.’