Eberechi Eze claims Sky Sports ref Samuel Barrott told him he blew too early to disallow the Crystal Palace forward's first-half goal at Brentford; Palace went on to lose 2-1 with goals in each half from Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa
Sunday 18 August 2024 18:44, UK
Eberechi Eze has claimed referee Sam Barrott admitted he blew too early to disallow the forward's first-half 'opener' in Brentford's win over Crystal Palace.
England's Eze thought he had opened the scoring when his quick-thinking free-kick caught out Mark Flekken at his near post, but referee Barrott had already blown for a foul by Will Hughes before the ball crossed the line.
The timing of his decision meant VAR was unable to intervene, while Palace had further cause for frustration when replays showed Hughes had a case for being fouled himself.
To add insult to injury, Palace fell behind to Bryan Mbeumo's fine solo effort moments later and went on to lose 2-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium, for their first league defeat since April 6.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp labelled Barrott's decision a "nightmare" while Eze was more philosophical in his assessment of the call, though he claimed the 31-year-old had admitted his error for not letting play go on.
Eze told Sky Sports: "The referee said he blew too early and made a mistake, so fair enough, everyone makes mistakes, but that was a goal that could have made the difference today.
"We feel a little bit [hard done by] because as he said, it was a mistake, but listen, we had so many other chances to score today, especially me, so one of those days and we just move on to the next one.
"We know that if we play like we did today and keep creating chances, we will score more goals and beat teams by a lot of goals. We do have to work a bit on the counter-attack as that is what they worked at and caused us problems.
"But we put in a decent performance today and I am sure it will come good."
Redknapp labelled Barrott's error a "monumental mistake" at half-time, and suggested the official, who is only in his second season in the Premier League, should take a more hands-off approach in future.
"The referee has had a nightmare, it is a monumental mistake, he should just let it breathe," he said. "I am not even sure it is a foul, I feel so sorry for Eze as this is genius what he does.
"It is a brilliant, brilliant piece of play and he could have blown after if he had wanted to, but to do it so quickly - I really feel so sorry for Eze as it was a brilliant, brilliant goal.
"The ref was too busy and excited to get involved and in the Premier League, you have to expect the unexpected, but it was an amazing piece of play from Eze, who deserved a goal.
"But the referee will learn from it and will not get too involved next time and to stay out of it, but you feel for Palace as that first 20 minutes, they were absolutely brilliant."
Magnanimous Palace head coach Oliver Glasner said Barrott's error would have been inconsequential had his side made the most of their first-half dominance, and refused to blame the official for his side's defeat.
"It is over, it makes no sense, it is what it is," he told Sky Sports. "There was also a very tight penalty before, but we talk about what we can influence and you see where the 'penalty' is when we had a three-against-two, we have to play this pass better, then we can score the goal and without depending on penalty, or not.
"So with many situations, we could do better. We are not in the rhythm we want to be, it is not an excuse. I saw many situations we created very well, in transition, set plays we were very dangerous, but in the end it was a 2-1 loss and that is the disappointment."
Only hours after revealing Ivan Toney may have played his final game for Brentford, manager Thomas Frank hailed the impact of his front three for their role in Brentford's first win over Crystal Palace in eight attempts.
Mbeumo and Wissa, who scored 21 goals Premier League goals between them last season, were both on the scoresheet and a constant threat on the break against Palace's defensive line, with Mbeumo's goal particularly impressive after a fine solo run.
He told Sky Sports: "I'm delighted, it's remarkable the feeling after you win, of course never too high or to low no matter what happens.
"Part of the reason we are so happy is it is the opening game of the new season, so it is always nice to make a good start, it it is only one game out of 38!
"And Crystal Palace, for whatever reason, have always been difficult to beat and especially under Oliver Glasner, where they have been even harder to beat. They are very difficult to play against.
"It was a very even game we just edged because we really worked hard in the moments when we had to be together and I felt the front three made the difference today."
