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Steve Cooper feels sorry for Howard Webb as he targets Andy Madley over Leicester City history
Steve Cooper said he felt sorry for referees’ chief Howard Webb as he continued his crusade against officials in criticising Andy Madley’s showing in Leicester City’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.
The City boss has pushed the envelope with his thoughts on referees this season and did not hold back on Madley. He felt City should have had a penalty before the one they received, after Chelsea's former City player Wesley Fofana felled Stephy Mavididi in the box.
Cooper picked on Madley specifically. He said City have had a “tough season” with him, with Madley the VAR for the controversial Jean-Philippe Mateta goal at Crystal Palace.
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He was also the referee for the Carabao Cup tie at Manchester United, when a third yellow card of the season was shown to Cooper, earning him a touchline ban. Suggesting the decisions will again cause problems for the PGMOL, Cooper expressed his sympathy with Webb, the head of the organisation.
“There are two main topics,” Cooper said in his post-match press conference. “There’s how the game played out and then there are moments that could be classed as game-changers.
“We create the first penalty decision and the second as well. You need moments when you play against teams like Chelsea, and you’re a team where we’re at. It’s about capitalising on your moments, and if it is moments like refereeing decisions, you hope that that the game is refereed in the right way.
“There’s some on us, where we can do better with our final-third play and the chances we created. Set-pieces we’ve got to be more of a threat on. Even the penalty that is given, they gave offside when he’s half a yard on. We’ve had a tough season with this referee this year.
“This is the last thing the PGMOL needed this weekend, being the first game and a performance like that. I felt a bit sorry for Howard.
“(VAR’s failure to award the first penalty) is going to be as much of a talking point as the poor decision because of how inconsistent that seems to be. There’s the on-the-pitch stuff and then the whole VAR debate goes on. They ain’t half causing problems for themselves.
“Everybody wants to help, you want it to get better, but when you’re on the wrong end of it, it’s so frustrating. I feel sorry for Howard this weekend. They needed a really clean week. I’m sure it won’t be as bad as that the rest of the weekend.”
City were arguably fortunate not to have a player sent off in the first half though, when Wilfred Ndidi only received a yellow card for his rake down Cole Palmer’s Achilles. Albeit, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said he didn’t feel it was worthy of a red card.
If City had received two penalties and earned a point, it would have been a snatch-and-grab, with Cooper’s side second-best throughout. They were especially under pressure in the first 35 minutes.
“We were preparing for one of the toughest games so far this season,” Cooper said. “We knew the size of the challenge. The first 30 minutes was tough. We knew there would be spells where Chelsea had dominance and territory and we were prepared for that. We’ve given away a soft goal and they’ve had dangerous moments, but what I felt needed improving mostly in the first half was when we actually got the ball.
“You saw the way we played in the last 15 minutes of the first half, we started to show good transitions, make some passes, get into positions and move our way through the pitch as we planned. We created two good chances with Kasey and Wilf.
“I know it was a tough first 30 minutes but generally defensively we were okay. Mads made a good save from Noni. But we give away the goal and it’s a game we then have to try to get back into.
“Half-time was about doing better with the ball and believing in ourselves, showing courage and what can happen when we do, and then getting further up the pitch with the press, but while doing that knowing that if Chelsea get through, they would be at their most threatening. It’s a small risk we had to take. Second half, when we got into decent areas, we could have done more with our quality in the final third.”
