Norwich City manager Dean Smith has slammed Andre Marriner’s decision to award Manchester City a late penalty in last night’s 4-0 loss at Carrow Road.
Speaking to the press via the Pink Un’s official YouTube channel, the Premier League coach was not impressed with the referee’s conclusion to hand the Manchester giants a spot-kick on the 90th minute.
Substitute Liam Delap won a penalty late on in the game which was eventually converted by Raheem Sterling to complete his hat-trick on the night, yet Norwich manager Smith was fuming with the decision for City.
The result leaves the Canaries stranded in the relegation zone with both Watford and Burnley having games in hand over Norwich, who were played off the park by City yet again this season.
Indeed, whilst the penalty was a soft one, Smith was left pointing fingers at Marriner’s decision to award City a spot-kick, with the Norwich boss claiming that PGMOL general manager Mike Riley will give a strike to the Premier League official.
Smith said when asked about the late City penalty against Norwich: “It’s never a penalty and I told Andre Marriner after it’s a pathetic decision. It will probably get a tick on Mike Riley’s stats calendar but it’s never a penalty.”
Smith right to question late City penalty against Norwich
Whilst the game was wrapped up heading into the 90th minute, it was still an unusual decision from the referee to award City what looked like a soft penalty as Norwich waited for the final whistle to be blown.
Although the goal will only be remembered as Sterling securing his hat-trick, the decision to award a penalty once again highlights the real issues of Premier League refereeing, with the drop in quality over the years becoming clear to see.
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