Chris Wilder has been charged by the FA after tearing into an official following Sheffield United’s 3-2 loss at Crystal Palace last month.
He branded referee Tony Harrington’s performance as ‘ridiculous’ and accused a linesman of a ‘complete lack of respect’ for eating a sandwich in a post-match meeting.
The Blades’ boss was irate that Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta went unpunished after a collision with new goalkeeper Ivo Grbic, who was withdrawn with a concussion, and had broader problems with the standard of officiating.
The Football Association (FA) declared on Wednesday that he was charged for remarks he made that he believed damaged the reputation of the game.
“Chris Wilder has been charged with violating FA Rule E3.1 in connection with remarks he made to the media on Tuesday, January 30, following Sheffield United’s Premier League game against Crystal Palace.” It said as much.
‘It’s alleged that the manager’s comments constitute improper conduct in that they imply bias and/or attack the integrity of the referee, or referees generally, and/or bring the game into disrepute.
‘Chris Wilder has until Friday, 16 February, to provide hos response.’
After the Blades’ loss against the Eagles last month, the manager expressed his frustration in a post-match interview.
“The referee is putting on yet another ridiculous performance,” Wilder said to BBC Sport.
“Be prepared for every close call to go against you,” a Premier League referee I’ve known for a long time and who is as honest as they come advised me.
Every 50/50 choice you make will work against you, he said. In the first half of the match, we received two bookings, but they weren’t really bookings. They were merely a gathering of people.
We have to switch goalkeepers since their youngster completely takes out our goalie and doesn’t receive a booking. He claims it was an accident, arguing that it doesn’t matter if it was or wasn’t an accident. The card is yellow.
“We receive four yellow cards, and they receive one for squandering time at the end.” It’s taking a long time. They took a long time, however their game management was excellent.
We discussed with Howard Webb the need to quicken the pace of play and ensure that the referees are in control of it; he was aware of the fans’ displeasure. He was able to see our players’ dissatisfaction.
Every close call or 50/50 goes against us, but we’ll handle it if that’s what we have to deal with from now until the conclusion of the season.
However, I’m not going to remain silent and stay under the radar. I’ve informed the referee of this after seeing him.
At the moment, one of his subordinates was consuming a sandwich, which I found to be utterly disrespectful. I hope that while he was speaking with a Premier League manager, he relished his lunch.
It’s unclear if the hungry linesman in question was Mark Scholes or Dan Cook.
After that, Sheffield United’s woes were even more acute as they lost 5-0 to Aston Villa at home, dropping them to 20th place in the standings and ten points outside of safety. Nonetheless, they managed to revitalise their attempt at survival by defeating Luton 3-1 in their most recent match.
When asked if he intended to pursue his grievances with Webb, Wilder had responded, “The same happened Saturday [in the FA Cup against Brighton].”
“Boys falling and trying to fool the spectators and referee.” Once more, every difficult choice. It has occurred much too frequently for me to remain silent. I’ll call it like it is and that’s how I feel; I’m not trying to dodge anything.
It was a competitive contest rather than an aggressive one. Both
teams have got respect for each other, I certainly have got a load of respect for Roy Hodgson and Ray Lewington and those guys here.
It was a competitive environment; no one went out intending to cause major harm to anyone, and we ended up with four appointments. Furthermore, as I have stated, every difficult choice works against us, which I find unacceptable.
For tearing into referees, Wilder is not the only person who could find himself in hot water.
After calling the November decision to let Newcastle’s winning goal against his club “a disgrace” and “embarrassing,” Mikel Arteta was charged with misconduct but eventually cleared.
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