Crystal Palace receive referee apology after Eberechi Eze goal blunder helps Brentford to victory

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Eberechi Eze revealed referee Sam Barrott admitted he was wrong to disallow his long-range free-kick as Crystal Palace slipped to defeat at Brentford.

Eze left goalkeeper Mark Flekken flat-footed with a strike from distance but before the ball hit the back of the net, Barrott blew his whistle for a foul by Will Hughes on Nathan Collins.

That early whistle meant VAR could not be consulted and Eze said after the game the referee admitted he made a mistake.

“It could have changed the game but we have to deal with it. It wasn’t our only chance,” Eze told the BBC.

“If we perform like that then we’ll do well. It’s a game, you’re going to make mistakes as a referee and unfortunately, it happened to us today. You’d hope it’d even out throughout the season.”

With Ivan Toney left out of the side by Brentford boss Thomas Frank, forwards Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo, who netted 21 goals between them last season, scored in either half to seal the three points as Palace lost to their London rivals for the first time in the Premier League.

Eagles boss Oliver Glasner refused to blame Barrott’s decision for his side losing the game and said the official deserved credit for admitting he got the decision wrong.

“It shows that he has a good character and is a good guy. We can always find excuses but I always tell the players that it is part of the game to make mistakes. I made mistakes today as well.

“It shows that he’s a great man to say ‘yes I made a mistake’ but it doesn’t change anything.

“I think everyone was surprised that the referee whistled so early but I don’t complain about it because the decision is made.

“In this moment he took the decision and we thought it was a goal. The rules are when the ball is in the game and the referee whistles that the goal doesn’t count. We had many other situations where we could take the lead in the first half but we didn’t and we were a little bit sloppy.”

Hackett: Huge mistake by Barrott

The incident cast an unwanted spotlight on Barrott, who has been promoted to the Select Group 1 list of referees only this season.

Former referees’ chief Keith Hackett told Telegraph Sport: “It was a huge mistake by the referee who should have held his vision and awaited the outcome of the free-kick. His early intervention of an alleged foul was wrong. He had blown prematurely so VAR was unable to intervene.

“Hopefully this young official will learn from his error which should not be made at the elite level of the game, and he will receive the appropriate operational advice from his boss Howard Webb.

“Sadly he judged the foul he awarded incorrectly. It was poor officiating.”

The absence of Toney, meanwhile, who is in discussions about a move to Saudi Arabia, led to a subdued mood around the Gtech Community Stadium at kick-off following a difficult pre-season for the hosts who have only managed to sign Fabio Carvalho this summer and saw a move for Napoli midfielder Jens Cajuste collapse last week.

The England striker, out of contract in June having missed much of last season because of his eighth-month suspension for breaching betting rules, has made no secret of his desire to play for one of the top clubs, but it appears the huge cash on offer in Saudi will lure him to the Middle East.

Mbeumo put Brentford ahead with their first meaningful attack after half-an-hour when he was played in by Wissa and the Cameroon forward blasted in from the edge of the box.

The goal did lift the home side from their early slumber after Palace dominated the opening 30 minutes, with Kevin Schade shooting just wide on the stroke of half-time before Palace were forced to withdraw Jean-Philipe Mateta at the break after an injury sustained in a collision with Flekken.

Palace finally got the goal their efforts deserved when Brentford defender Ethan Pinnock prodded into his own net after Munoz nodded down a Tyrick Mitchell cross and it was the south Londoners who looked the more likely side to take the three points.

Eze continued to cause Brentford problems and his perfect pass into the path of Odsonne Edouard saw the French forward hammer the ball past Flekken, only to be denied by an offside flag after timing his run poorly.

But it was the hosts who claimed the points 14 minutes from time when a high ball into the Palace box was not cleared and Collins’s shot was deflected off Joachim Andersen and Wissa followed up after Dean Henderson pushed the ball into the shins of the Congolese forward and over the line.

Palace pushed hard for an equaliser with Eze denied once again when his weaving run and shot was clawed away by Flekken and Edouard then lifted the ball over the bar from close range.

Glasner said: “We feel disappointed about losing, it feels like we shouldn’t lose this game.

“In many situations we did OK. We know we can do better. If it’s OK over 95 minutes it means you lose this game.

“Many things I saw today we did well but in decisive situations we were not on our top level and that is why we lost this game.”

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