Mario Melchiot couldn’t understand why Adama Traore stopped playing when appealing for a foul during Wolves’ 4-2 defeat to Leeds United on Saturday.
Prior to Leeds adding a fourth through Rodrigo in stoppage-time, it was Traore who lost the ball in the build-up, just inside his own half, but it was only after he felt that Marc Roca was pulling on his shirt and he should have been given a free-kick.
The on-field referee waved play on despite Traore’s protests, but within a flash, Rodrigo was through on goal and ensuring that the points were heading towards Yorkshire.
But that wasn’t the end of the drama, nor the start of it during an afternoon full of VAR controversy.
From Wolves’ cries that Junior Firpo committed a penalty in the first half to the bemusement of Matheus Nunes’ red card after Rodrigo’s goal was given, it was another day where Wolves felt VAR was against him after the drama involving Nick Pope and Newcastle United last week.
Nonetheless, Melchiot shared his thoughts on the weekend’s drama and he questioned why Traore stopped trying to win the game in stoppage time, as he told MatchDay Extra on Premier League Productions (18/03/23).
“I think the shirt pulling is more the thing he was really focussing on,” said Melchiot. “Normally, when you pull that, it’s a yellow card.
“When the game got on, he must have made the decision, where it wasn’t big enough for him (to overturn). Look, the red card (to Jonny), it wasn’t a discussion. It was already hard to watch (the tackle).
“But the pulling of the jersey. What do you do as a ref? Traore, he stops. I don’t think as a team and the situation he is in, you should stop, it’s not like you are trying to win the league, you are trying to be safe in the league, so you don’t stop! Just carry on and then let the ref then make the decision. Then he carries on and loses the ball.
“The only thing that could have happened, when you watched the foul, he must have looked at Troare’s body and thought ‘you are strong enough to move’ – if it was my player on my team, then I would have been happy to let that go on.”
THE RELEGATION BATTLE
Well, this is officially the tightest relegation battle in Premier League history, with only four points separating 12th-placed Crystal Palace and bottom-of-the-table Southampton.
It’s crazy to think that nine teams are involved in the battle to avoid the drop because, on one hand, if your team is in it, then the pressure is spread across a lot of teams, which could help your cause.
But, as Leeds found out at the weekend, one week you are in the drop zone, then you win one game and you are out of it.
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