The former Premier League stars were united in their verdict after Sunderland were denied an early spot-kick against Bournemouth
Ashley Williams and Alan Shearer both believed Sunderland were denied a “clear penalty” during their 1-1 draw with Bournemouth - with Williams insisting referee Jarred Gillett “got this one completely wrong”.
The flashpoint came in the first half when Enzo Le Fée went down in the box under pressure from Raul Jimenez. Despite strong appeals from Sunderland players, no penalty was awarded, and VAR did not overturn the on-field decision.
Former Wales captain Williams was adamant the contact was sufficient. “Jared Gillett, the referee, has got this one completely wrong. He's got a good view of it, first and foremost. So his view's not blocked, he can see it. We see Jimenez into the back of Le Fée. And it's a clear penalty, there's a little bit of forearm in there, a little bit of leg makes contact.
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“It's going to have Le Fée baffled, and so am I because that is a penalty. To compound it and make it worse, this was a few minutes afterwards. Hulme's on the ball, I think that's less contact, and he's given that foul. So we're just asking for a little bit of consistency from the refs. If you haven't given one and you give the one a couple of minutes later, this is why everyone gets frustrated with it.”
Former Newcastle United and England favourite Alan Shearer agreed with that assessment. Speaking after Williams on Match of the Day last Saturday night, the ex-Blackburn Rovers and Southampton man added: “Just so they don't think I'm biased, I think it's a penalty as well. Definitely a penalty.”
Sunderland went on to take the lead through Eliezer Mayenda before Evanilson levelled for Bournemouth in the second half, but the early decision remained a major talking point.
Régis Le Bris delivers verdict on refereeing controversy in Bournemouth draw
Speaking after the game, Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris delivered his verdict on the refereeing controversy from Gillett: “I think it [penalty decision] would have changed things a lot, but it is what it is. We can’t change the decision now.”
Le Bris also hinted that he felt Tyler Adams was fortunate to avoid a red card for serious foul play in the second half, with VAR opting not to advise Gillett to review his decision to only show a yellow card, with mitigation cited in the decision.
“It [Adams on Xhaka] was a foot-on-foot challenge, and that is always dangerous. Often in this league, when you have this kind of action, it is a red card. It wasn’t, even though it was really dangerous. There were a couple of situations like that where things were just on the edge for the integrity of the players. I think it is important to protect them, even if the intensity of the game was high. It was right on the edge today.”
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