GARY O’NEIL has joked that Howard Webb may have blocked his phone calls after Wolves’ defeat to West Ham.
The West Midlands side lost 2-1 to the Hammers, but a late Max Kilman goal was chalked off for offside.
O’Neil was left fuming with the decision that judged substitute Tawanda Chirewa to be impeding goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski while in an offside position.
The 99th-minute goal had originally been given, but VAR Darren England advised referee Tony Harrington to go to the monitor to have another look.
He opted to rule out the goal, leaving O’Neil seething in his post-match interview.
The manager is now facing a charge from the FA for improper conduct relating to his behaviour towards Harrington.
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O’Neil described the incident as “possibly the worst decision I’ve ever seen” and has been sanctioned for his reaction to Harrington in the dressing room area of Molineux.
Webb has been a regular on the other end of O’Neil’s phone this season after a string of baffling decisions against Wolves.
However, O’Neil has insisted that they still have a good relationship.
He joked: “I guess if he sees something in our game and he sees my name pop up on his phone it might be, ‘oh, do I have to take this one’.”
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He continued: “I’m sure he has pressed the red button a few times, but he is always open and honest and that is all I ask.
“I don’t need him to agree to me, it is just about giving me a real understanding of why.
“Speed dial is the wrong way to put it, I’m happy to speak to Howard as he is happy to speak to me.
“I speak to him even when it is not about us. There have been some ones where I’ve been sat at home on a Sunday and seen something, just trying to have a decent relationship. We are both working in the same game.”
O’Neil has also claimed that there is a “disconnect” between what VAR awards and what people think the outcome will be.
He added: “We should have a real good idea of an idea of what is coming next with VAR, whereas it doesn’t feel that way,” he added.
“It feels there is maybe a disconnect between what people are expecting and the end result.
“You can feel it across the whole league, there has been a lot of disappointment with decisions and the way the season has gone with VAR and other bits and pieces.
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“That’s not to say it’s all bad, there have been some really good calls.
“Not only at Wolves there is a desire from everybody for the standard of it to improve, and I’m sure that goes for the guys in charge of it.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
