It’s an important weekend in the battle to avoid relegation involving Wolves, Leicester City and Ipswich Town.
With Southampton nailed on to return to the Championship, it’s a three-horse race to finish in 17th position, and it’s one Wolves are currently winning.
Wolves 1-1 draw against Everton saw them move six clear of 18th-place Ipswich, and this weekend, the gap could become even bigger.
While Leicester host Manchester United and the Tractor Boys play Champions League hopefuls Nottingham Forest, Vitor Pereira’s men travel to Southampton.
On paper, it’s a game the Wanderers should be winning but one decision the Premier League have made ahead of the clash may anger Wolves fans.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Robert Jones will referee Southampton vs Wolves
Robert Jones will take charge of Southampton against Wolves on Saturday, with the 37-year-old joined by Gavin Ward as his fourth official and the controversial Michael Oliver on VAR.
Jones has taken charge of 13 games involving Wolves, the last being their FA Cup victory over Bristol City in January 2025.
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The Wanderers have won six fixtures that Jones has officiated in total while drawing three and losing four. He’s also dished out 20 yellow cards and one red card.
Although he arguably didn’t put a foot wrong in the FA Cup clash, some supporters won’t be able to forget one awful decision he made previously.
Jones wrongly awarded Sheffield United a penalty against Wolves
In November 2023, Sheffield United secured their first win of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign by beating Wolves 2-1.
The game hung in the balance when Jean-Ricner Bellergarde cancelled out Cameron Archer’s opener, but right at the death, Jones awarded Sheffield United a controversial penalty, adjudging Fabio Silva to have fouled George Baldock in the area.
However, replays showed that Baldock was already going to ground, leaving Gary O’Neil incensed when Oliver Norwood tucked home the resulting spot kick.
“It’s not a penalty. I spoke to the referee, and I told him why it wasn’t a penalty. He says there’s contact – Fabio’s shinpad probably grazes Baldock’s calf,” O’Neil said of United’s penalty.
“I’ve watched it loads of times and there’s minimal contact and if we’re giving fouls for that, there would have been a million fouls in that football match.
“The referee is so quick to want to give it, but it’s never a clear penalty. He needs to wait, be calm and if you’ve made a big error VAR will tell you. I’ve given up on penalties. I’m honestly lost, I don’t know where to go with it. I’m told to go in and have a sensible conversation, but he still watched it telling me it’s a penalty, which tells me we’re in a crazy place.”
Pundits also had their say, with Gary Lineker lauding it a ‘stinking decision’ while Danny Murphy was left baffled by the referee’s thinking.
Wolves fans will never forget how wrongly they were done at Bramall Lane, and hopefully, there’s no controversy in this weekends relegation six-pointer.