Referee Controversy and Reading's Challenges
It has been a miserable few days for referees. Barely had the anger cooled over the VAR chaos in the Manchester derby when another officiating storm broke out – this time in the Carabao Cup at the SCL Stadium.
Reading thought they had hauled themselves level against Brentford in the third round. Paudie O'Connor flung himself into an acrobatic finish, a centre-back turning contortionist, and the ball flew in. It looked a superb, instinctive goal. Then came the whistle.
Referee Tom Nield, after a chat with his assistant, ruled it out. High boot, he decided. A “dangerous” piece of skill. The only real danger seemed to be to common sense.
The decision stunned the stadium. A perfectly good equaliser, gone. Any theoretical justification rested on O'Connor’s foot being judged too high, but the reaction in the ground told its own story. The big defender had briefly morphed into Zlatan Ibrahimovic; the officials treated it like a crime scene.
Leam Richardson did not bother to hide his fury.
“It was in the top three worst decisions I've seen,” the Reading manager said, still bristling.
Charlie Savage went even harder.
“It was one of the worst decisions I've seen in my whole life,” the midfielder insisted.
Nobody argued. Heads shook in unison around the SCL. The rage over the chalked-off goal burned so brightly that another major call almost slipped through the cracks – a clear-looking handball shout for a Reading penalty later in the game that was simply waved away. On another night, that would have been the talking point. Not this time.
Reading lost 2-1 to the Premier League side on Tuesday, and the sense of injustice lingered long after full-time. Supporters trudged away feeling stitched up by the officials. By Saturday, they might be seething before they even get near the turnstiles.
This time, the problem is not a referee. It is a pylon.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) have picked this weekend to replace one, and junction 11 of the M4 – the one right by the SCL Stadium – will be closed. For fans of Reading and Notts County heading to the match, it is a logistical nightmare in the making. Throw in racegoers heading to Newbury and visitors to the Newbury show a couple of junctions further west, and the traffic picture looks grim.
On the road and on the pitch, then, it has not been straightforward. Reading slipped to defeat at Cambridge in the league last Saturday and then went out of the Carabao Cup to Brentford. Yet the performances tell a more encouraging story.
Against Brentford, Reading rattled a top-flight side. The visitors were troubled enough to turn to Igor Thiago of Brazil from the bench in an effort to close the game down. That in itself said plenty about how uncomfortable the Premier League club felt.
Inside the Reading camp, something else has shifted. For the first time in a couple of seasons, there is real competition for places. Shirts are not being handed out by default. Players are playing for them.
The results have not yet caught up with the performances. The mood, though, suggests that once the officials and the roadworks get out of the way, this team is ready to move.
