Andoni Iraola questions ref decisions as Bournemouth suffer last-gasp defeat

Posted Sunday, May 12, 2024 by PA

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola was unhappy with the performance of debutant referee Matt Donohue after his side crashed to a controversial 2-1 defeat at home to Brentford.

Yoane Wisser scored a stoppage-time winner after Dominic Solanke looked to have rescued Bournemouth a point by cancelling out Bryan Mbuemo’s 84th-minute opener.

But Iraola was left fuming by Premier League debutant Donohue’s decision to rule out two first-half Solanke goals, one for what looked an accidental handball by Antoine Semenyo in the build-up and the second for a foul without consulting VAR.

Iraola said: “Brentford are a good team but I think we were the ones closer to scoring goals and who had the most clearances.

“I think the game was very affected by the referring decisions and it is not the first time we can complain in the last few games.

“We have been very affected by refereeing decisions. I know that this was his first game and whatever, but it is true that we were very affected today.

“We have not had any explanation for the goal being disallowed but, according to the rules, he is not the one scoring the goal. The handball came from a rebound, it was not on purpose.

“There was 10 more seconds of play and more passes so I do not get why the VAR overturned the decision. It has to be something clear and obvious.

“For the second one, the referee has made a mistake because he called a foul and two seconds later we scored. He should have waited to whistle until we scored otherwise the VAR cannot overturn it.”

Donohue also awarded Brentford a penalty in the second half before being called over to the on-field review screen and reversing his decision after deciding Ivan Toney went down too easily under Illia Zabarnyi’s challenge.

Mbuemo finally opened the scoring with four minutes of normal time remaining with a simple finish after racing on to Wissa’s flick-on from goalkeeper Mark Flekken’s long punt upfield.

Bournemouth were level three minutes later as top-scorer Solanke sent a looping header beyond Flekken from Marcos Senesi’s cross.

However, there was still time for more drama when Mbuemo set Wissa away and the substitute fired in the winner from an acute angle.

Brentford manager Thomas Frank said: “I am very happy. We showed fantastic character and mentality as we have a lot of times this season.

“We had the margins with us but, in an even game, I think we had the cutting edge. In the end, it was a fair win to us.

“To concede late and then go again, I’m happy with that. And, I must say, I think today it’s a squad game, it’s not an 11 player game. The five subs made the difference, of course, particularly Wisser with a fantastic assist and a fantastic goal.”