'Crying' - Huddersfield Town boss pleads for Championship VAR after Bristol City penalty nightmare
The Robins scored a last-minute equaliser to salvage a draw
Andre Breitenreiter has called for the implementation of a video assistant referee (VAR) in the Championship and says his Huddersfield Town players were crying after a 99th-minute penalty saw Bristol City snatch a late point.
Cam Pring’s cross was adjudged to have been handled by Ollie Turton in the final seconds of the match, and referee Rebecca Welch pointed to the spot.
Nahki Wells stepped up and fired home to cancel out Josh Koroma’s opener and earn a 1-1 draw for Liam Manning’s side at Ashton Gate.
“I disagree with the penalty decision but the boys played really well, now they’re crying in the dressing room because they don’t understand how they haven’t won and its frustrating,” Breitenreiter said.
“It’s hard, but the performance was great.”
Aside from the late penalty heartbreak, the visitors crafted four more shots on goal than the hosts and forced Max O’Leary to push out Sorba Thomas’ effort prior to going ahead.
Turton was introduced to the field in the 95th minute as the visitors looked to close out City late on, but the substitution didn’t work.
“We spoke to the referee a few minutes ago and she hasn’t seen the replay after the game yet,” the manager added.
“I told her that she has to be 100% right to give a penalty in the last minute. But, let us speak about our performance, we cannot change the decisions in the game.”
At this stage of the season, points are more vital than ever as teams scrap to avoid relegation.
Huddersfield began the day outside of the drop zone, but Wells’ finish means they’re now back in the bottom three with just three matches remaining.
The German manager insisted that if VAR was in action, the spot kick would’ve been cancelled out.
“You need VAR here in the Championship, for sure,” he said.
“We always have discussions in the Premier League about how long it takes but we want to have fair decisions, and it was unfair today, it was unfair for the boys and they cannot understand.
“I don’t want to criticise the referee in public and we’ve told her our views (in private), we just hope that we have a little bit more luck (in the remaining games).”