Swindon Town boss Jody Morris has claimed to Swindon Advertiser that referees should conduct post-match interviews after games following his side’s narrow 1-0 defeat to Stockport County at the County Ground.
Referee Alan Young handed out nine bookings in the match in total – including one to Morris himself, as well as a red card in a performance that left both sets of fans frustrated and erratic at the inconsistent calls throughout the game.
Drama struck within the first minute at the County Ground as Jacob Wakeling was judged to have brought down Kyle Knoyle inside the box, with the referee awarding Dave Challinor’s side a penalty and producing a red card to Wakeling.
Despite goalkeeper Sol Brynn saving Paddy Madden’s resulting spot-kick, the visitors would eventually go on to find the back of the net with ten minutes to play, as a counter-attack from Stockport was concluded with a strike from Ryan Croasdale from inside the box after good work from Ryan Rydel to give his side all three points.
The victory for Stockport sees the club move into fifth in the League Two table on 63 points and five points clear of Mansfield in eight in the playoffs, whilst Swindon currently sits in 11th, ten points off the play-off places with nine games left to play.
FULL TIME: Swindon 0-1 Stockport County…
A tough one to take as ten man Town battle hard but are beaten by the single goal.#STFC 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/0WIVxTSZGn
— Swindon Town Football Club (@Official_STFC) March 25, 2023
Speaking after the game to Swindon Advertiser, Swindon boss Jody Morris has explained that referees should have to do post-match interviews to explain their actions on the pitch to give everyone a clear idea as to why an initial decision was made.
“I’ve always liked the idea of referees coming out after the game to explain their decisions because half the time they don’t really want to talk to you anyway,” said Morris.
“At the end of the game, I just went to [Alan Young] and quite quietly asked him to talk me through the penalty incident after theirs.
“Obviously, he didn’t want to talk to me then. Some referees are easier to talk to than others. But he didn’t want to talk to me, he just wanted me off the pitch.”
As well as that, Morris was also distraught at the decision for the referee to book winger Rushian Hepburn-Murphy for simulation when he felt that the referee got the decision wrong and that it should have been a penalty for his side instead.
Morris added: “It’s the fourth game in a row where we’re not coming away with what we deserved. If we get a point, we can say the players deserved that for the work rate they showed.
“If we get that penalty on Rush (Hepburn-Murphy) and it goes our way, does their man get sent off? I don’t know, but judging by what happened today, I’m not sure anyone in the ground would know what decision the ref would have made.
“But the fans saw what we were up against – ten verses 11 – and then you’ve got some strange decisions which go on in the game. I felt the players dealt with that side of it well as well.”
Writers View
In truth, I actually agree with what Jody Morris has to say regarding referees and how they should conduct post-match interviews to get to the bottom of why they have made a certain decision.
Referees should be accountable for the actions they make on a football pitch and if they was to be given a platform for them to explain their actions after a game, it will obviously make it a lot clearer for everyone involved.
I can totally understand Morris’ frustrations however with his side having just lost the game. It’s important now that this result doesn’t affect him or his players and move on to the next game as quick as they can.
