Keith Hackett hammers referee after Marco Silva anger at Fulham vs Ipswich
01/06/2025 07:13 AM
Marco Silva can feel annoyed by the performance of referee Darren Bond after his Fulham side drew 2-2 with Ipswich, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL official and ex-FIFA referee exclusively told Football Insider that he was also not impressed with the performance of the referee at Craven Cottage on Sunday (5 January).
Silva has attracted attention for his success with his side this season, but could only see them take a point against the relegation-threatened Tractor Boys.
The Fulham boss was though unhappy with the way Bond oversaw that game, and Hackett agrees that the referee’s performance was not a good one.
Marco Silva reaction to Fulham vs Ipswich assessed
There were a number of incidents that left the hosts frustrated during their draw with Kieran McKenna’s side.
Leif Davis was only shown a yellow card when bringing down Harry Wilson with the Fulham attacker through on goal and many feeling that the Ipswich full-back was the last man.
It also needed a VAR review for Wilson to be awarded a penalty after being brought down in the Ipswich area, the first of two given to his side, while the visitors were also awarded a penalty of their own.
The Cottagers were also denied another spot kick when Luke Woolfenden appeared to handle the ball inside his own area.
Speaking after the game, Silva claimed that the performance of Bond was not at Premier League level, and that he needed help from VAR to get the right decisions (BBC).
Now, Hackett does have some sympathy for the Fulham boss over his frustrations with the referee.
When asked by Football Insider if Silva’s assessment was a fair one, the former official said:
“I watched this game, I thought it was a poor performance from the referee. I think that he didn’t look confident, worried about his movement, he wasn’t taking up good positions, so that leaves him vulnerable, and he lacked authority.
“Particularly when players were surrounding him almost on a regular basis he took no action what so ever, he allowed players to surround him, he allowed players probably to intimidate him, so pictorially he didn’t look right as a referee I’m thinking ‘you’re not having a good game’.
“Around the penalty kick decisions he didn’t solve one of them, I left with a view of who’s refereeing this match: the referee or VAR, and it was the VAR.
“In fairness, the VAR pulled him out of the mire on more than one occasion so he needs some operational advice. I don’t particularly rate him I have to say that, it’s harsh but I didn’t rate this performance at all, he was poor.
“I think the manager was showing his frustrations on the technical area, pictorially I don’t think that helps the game generally, but you could sense he was frustrated by it all, as the players were.
“Make these decisions, being part of the Premier League and being an elite referee is about making the big calls and getting them right and I just felt that the VAR was in control and not Darren Bond.”
Following that draw between the two teams, Fulham now sit ninth in the Premier League table, and are still within reach of the European spots.
Ipswich meanwhile are 18th, level on points with 17th placed Wolves, albeit having played a game more.
In other news, an update has been issued over Fulham and West Ham’s interest in James McAtee.
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The post Keith Hackett hammers referee after Marco Silva anger at Fulham vs Ipswich appeared first on Football Insider.
