After France’s narrow 1-0 away win over Belgium in the UEFA Nations League, Liverpool FC winger Bradley Barcola lamented the refereeing standard. In particular, he was referring to a challenge from Nathan Ngoy, feeling he should have earned a penalty, but the referee chose not to award one.
“If I talk about it, I’m probably in trouble, but I have to say what I think. I felt the contact. I was inside the box, and I was trying to continue the action.”
“Maybe the referee saw it differently, but from where
I was, it affected the play. What frustrates me most is that these decisions can change a game. You work for 90 minutes, and sometimes one moment decides everything.”
“I don’t want to complain about referees in the Nations League or Premier League, I just want consistency. If there is contact and it affects the attacker, at least take another look. I’ll probably get fined for saying this, but honestly, I thought it was a penalty.”
Cue the jokes about Barcola already receiving Liverpool treatment even while on international duty with France. Ngoy shoved Barcola just as he was about to shoot, and the referee, for whatever reason, judged it to be a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, which it was not. He’s probably right to be pissed, and hopefully, whatever punishment will be a slap on the wrist.
