Styles to send apology to Bolton over his blunder
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EXCLUSIVE: I'm so sorry - ref Styles to send apology to Bolton over his Ronaldo penalty blunder
Bolton are set to receive an apology from referee Rob Styles for the astonishing penalty mistake he made at Old Trafford. The official has asked his superiors at his governing body, the PGMOL, to pass on his regret at awarding Manchester United a spot-kick when Cristiano Ronaldo was clearly tackled fairly by Jlloyd Samuel on Saturday.
It is the second time in just over a year that Styles has had to apologise for a penalty error after pointing to the spot at Anfield in August last season when Liverpool full back Steve Finnan collided with Chelsea's Florent Malouda.
That decision proved crucial as it allowed Chelsea to draw the match 1-1 and the referee was dropped as a result. He was temporarily demoted again after awarding Birmingham a soft penalty against Manchester City in March.
Styles' latest significant mistake may also have changed the game, as Bolton were holding on with the match goalless when the kick was awarded and converted on the hour. United went on to win 2-0.
The 44-year-old had a clear view of Samuel's challenge and has been heavily criticised for the error, with Bolton manager Gary Megson claiming Styles was the only person inside Old Trafford who thought it was a foul.
Even Sir Alex Ferguson admitted it did not look like a penalty and Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer attacked Styles for not explaining his decision after the match.
But Sportsmail understands the referee realised his mistake almost immediately from the reaction of everyone around him and subsequently confirmed it was an error when reviewing the game on video.
Referees' apologies appear to be increasing in frequency after Alan Wiley telephoned David Moyes two weeks ago after not giving Everton a penalty at Stoke. But Steve Bennett's reaction to comments from Manchester City manager Mark Hughes yesterday over his performance may not be as contrite.
The referee gave a 34thminute penalty to Wigan which was converted by Amr Zaki after Javier Garrido was deemed to have fouled Wilson Palacios and it proved to be the winner.
Hughes said: 'All we ask is that the referees get the big decisions right. Today they were not made correctly and that's made a direct impact on the result. We feel today the referee has played a part in the outcome. The player has looked to gain an advantage by diving theatrically. 'Referees will have bad days just like the rest of us and this was one of them.'
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stupid -.-
as if that "sorry" can change anything. must as well take that time to learn how to be a better ref.
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saying sorry no use de la. What if bolton relegated as a result? Who is going to compensate bolton for their loss in revenue?
But yeah its still better to be a man and come out and say sorry if you are wrong. This will let football fans know that he really made a mistake.
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should have video replay from where in the stand.... then give yellow or red card to the referee if he too kum lan..... then they will be scared what..