Neil Aspin criticises disgraceful penalty decision and diabolical refereeing
Port Vale manager Neil Aspin says referee’s first-half decision was “an absolute disgrace of a decision” and “the running of the game was absolutely diabolical.”
Jones gave a penalty for a foul by Nathan Smith which allowed Crawley back into the game after Tom Pope had given Vale the lead.
It has absolutely killed the game. I am not one to make excuses but you can’t defend that…
Aspin commented: “I am absolutely devastated at this moment. It is the worst I have felt I think since I have been here because I thought the team played some good football in the first half, and should have been more than the one goal up, and then an absolutely diabolical decision against us.
“I am not going to sit on the fence, it is an absolute disgrace of a decision and it has really changed the whole game.
“I thought the refereeing today and the running of the game was absolutely diabolical. It just wasn’t acceptable.
“It has absolutely killed the game. I am not one to make excuses but you can’t defend that. I thought the players were playing some good football in the first half and it really changed the whole flow of the game.
“When you are trying to get some tempo, he stopped the game. He talked to players but didn’t book them, so why do that? You are stopping the game.
“When we wanted to speed it up he slowed it down. When we got a throw in he was then hurrying us up.
“Every ball going up to Tom Pope…if it was a 50/50 it was given against him.”