Millwall boss rages at referee for 'contentious decisions' in Sunderland draw

Gary Rowett believes his Millwall side were badly done-to by the officials in the draw with Sunderland.

Millwall boss Gary Rowett was raging at the referee after his side’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland, insisting his side should have had a penalty and had a good goal wrongly ruled out.

Sunderland and Millwall played out a physical encounter at The Den, during with Millwall repeatedly threw themselves to the ground in the box.

One of those incidents, an early tangle between Aji Alese and Tom Bradshaw, was comprehensively waved away by the referee.

Shortly afterwards, Millwall thought they had scored a good goal as former Sunderland captain George Honeyman pounced on a poor piece of handling from Black Cats ‘keeper Anthony Patterson.

However, the linesman raised his flag with George Saville, who was in an offside position, adjudged to be interfering in Patterson’s eye-line.

Rowett, though, is having none of either.

“We’ve had something like 15 shots and lots and lots of moments which were very contentious,” Rowett said. “I’ve watched them back, so I’m not just sat here bleating as a manager who hasn’t won the game.

“We should’ve had a penalty first half when Tom Bradshaw gets the other side of the full-back and the full-back pulls him and then pushes him in the back.

“The referees need to be sure. He said: ‘I didn’t feel there was quite enough contact to be a penalty’. So he wasn’t sure.

“But the second one (Honeyman’s disallowed goal) he is absolutely sure. You can’t guess. If you watch it back then Saville is in and around that area but he is quite a way away from the keeper.

“When Zian [Flemming] strikes the ball it doesn’t affect the goalkeeper at all, he dives straight away. He knows where it is going, he fumbles the chance and then he doesn’t appeal it at all. Usually that is a good guideline.

“If I’m the keeper I’m getting up there and I’m saying he is in my way. They think it is goal. They don’t appeal. The officials chalked it off.

“After that the keeper has made two or three good saves and we’ve hit the bar. We’re a little bit unfortunate not to win the game.”

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