Brighton receive third apology of refereeing error this season

Brighton receive third apology of refereeing error this season

Ayoola Kelechi 14:57 - 09.04.2023

Brighton were denied a clear penalty against Tottenham and have received an official apology from the Premier League for the incident

Premier League side has received an apology from the league’s body of referees, PGMOL, after they suffered yet another refereeing error in their 2-1 loss to Tottenham on Saturday. 

Brighton offered another Premier League apology following Tottenham errors

The Seagulls were denied an apparent penalty against Tottenham when winger Kaoru Mitoma was fouled in the box by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but referee Stuart Atwell failed to spot the infringement, as did the VAR officials on duty. 

Brighton went on to lose the match after Harry Kane scored a late winner for Spurs, which put the brakes on their bid to secure a shock UEFA Champions League spot. 

Brighton players were clearly aggrieved at the decision not to award them a penalty on that occasion or indeed on another occasion when Lewis Dunk appeared to have his shirt pulled in the box. 

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Their irritation would have been made even worse by the same VAR officials who failed to spot the Mitoma penalty incident, ruling out two Brighton goals for handball in the build-ups. 

Brighton defender, Dunk, was critical of the refereeing decisions and the implementation of VAR in the Premier League, saying, "I don't see what VAR is here for. 

"You bring it in for big decisions and don't make big decisions. What is the point of it? He [Hojberg] has clearly fouled him [Mitoma]."

The latest apology from Howard Webb, the chairman of PGMOL, is the third such apology that Brighton have received this season alone. 

Refereeing errors derailing Brighton’s European ambition

They received apologies for crucial errors that went against them against Aston Villa in November and Crystal Palace in February. 

The latest error against Tottenham saw the Seagulls lose to Spurs in a game that they could have won if decisions went their way, and could cost Brighton a significantly higher finish on the table. 

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Had Brighton defeated Tottenham, they would have been one point behind fifth-placed Spurs with two games in hand, and would have been seriously considering the prospect of playing in the UCL next season depending on other results going in their favour. 

Instead, Brighton find themselves seventh and out of the European places for now and the Seagulls will certainly find the PGMOL apologies incredibly irritating if they end up missing out on European football as a result of the errors made by referees. 

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