Peterborough United boss calls referee Alex Chilowicz an ‘actor’ after an ’embarrassing’ red card decision in the 3-1 defeat to Barnsley.
It comes following the dismissal of Harley Mills, with the 19-year-old full-back being given a red card with just ten minutes remaining for a challenge on Barnsley’s Stuart O’Keefe, shortly after Posh had scored, reducing Barnsley’s lead.
Video replays indicated that while Mills made contact, his foot remained on the ground with Ferguson said the incident as deserving of “at worst” a yellow card, labelling the red card decision as “embarrassing.”
If the appeal fails, Mills would be sidelined for three matches, with just Jack Sparkes the only available senior left-back.
Ferguson also voiced his anger with the referee’s overall display during the match and conveyed frustration over receiving a yellow card himself for stepping outside his technical area, a behaviour he accused the Barnsley coaching staff of exhibiting more frequently.
He also lamented the lack of a yellow card for the foul that resulted in Posh’s goal, with Emmanuel Fernandez being pushed in the box while attempting to head a corner.
Ferguson believed it warranted a second booking, noting that the only Barnsley player cautioned at that moment was centre-back and goalscorer Donovan Pines, while Barnsley media suggested Conor McCarthy was responsible.
“At 2-1, we’re back in the game and the ref makes an embarrassing decision”
Darren Ferguson had a lot to say about today’s referee, who he called ‘an actor’; including a ‘terrible’ red card decision, no booking for the penalty and his own yellow #pufchttps://t.co/ANII8k5UQJ— Ben Jones (@PTBenJones) December 29, 2024
Straight red card for this? #pufc pic.twitter.com/hgMUjbCoKm
— EmeraldPosh 🎩 (@EmeraldPosh) December 29, 2024
Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson said, per Peterborough Today: “At 2-1, we’re back in the game and the referee makes an embarrassing decision. He’ll be embarrassed by that and that’s the way things are going at the moment. Anything that can go wrong, is going wrong.
“It’s a terrible decision. He couldn’t wait to do it. He sprinted to give Harley a red. It’s the first time he sprinted all game. He didn’t give himself any time to make a decision, it was just impulsive.
“I thought it was a red at the time, but when you look back at it his foot is on the floor. It’s a yellow card at worst, it’s a terrible decision. Referees are paid to do a job and he didn’t do his today. It’s an appalling decision. Maybe we do have the chance to appeal it, but we wouldn’t win as they don’t go against the referees.
“This referee is an actor an actor. He just runs around like an actor. We get a penalty. Manny is going to head it into an open goal. The lad has been booked but he doesn’t book him again because he says there’s no intent to stop a goal. They just make it up.
“I’m used to getting booked now in my career. I wonder why I get booked, I think I know. Their coaching staff were doing far worse than me in terms of going over the line. It’s the third time I’ve been booked this season for going over my line. it’s so tight at this place but he just allowed them to do it and obviously wanted me to get booked.”
Barnsley boss Darrell Clarke said, per Barnsley Chronicle: “It was a good performance. In the first 30 minutes we were in a lot of control. Max had a great chance but we didn’t quite have the end product. They had ten or 15 minutes which starts from our individual mistake. Ben (Killip) pulls off a great save.
“At half-time, we regrouped. It was important for the staff to put the message across to not worry about the last 15 minutes of the first half and erase the mistakes. We did that with two quality finishes.”
“New year, new start. Hopefully the fans get right behind us, I know they will, when Wrexham come to town on New Year’s Day” 🗣️📣 pic.twitter.com/bltKSTSZnq
— Barnsley FC (@BarnsleyFC) December 29, 2024
This is how fans reacted as the Peterborough boss calls the referee an ‘actor’ after the ’embarrassing’ red card decision in defeat to Barnsley…
@JessicaaAC: Shocking absolutely shocking decision
@JamieClark_44: Idiot trolls getting on the players backs and shouting Fergie out need a reality check. Be careful what you wish for and appreciate what we have. Time to back the chairman, manager and players. We will come good again. Keep the faith now more than ever 💙 #PUFC #theposh
@KieranR69616476: Players gave their all, did they? I would have expected a better effort and performance if we stuck 11 training dummies on the field… #pufc
@ffsTeekay: Could just be me but Fergie might be a broken record, says the same thing/similar things after every game – insanity comes to mind
@Gameday523: Car Crash interview. No questions about Dornelly or Randall and just saying the same stuff over and over again. Unless the Rules have changed the Mills Red was the correct decision.
@Bradley_PUFC: Just come out and tell the truth. You’ve been done over by an awful chairman who invested nothing into the squad in the summer and been left with a lot of young L2 and NL level footballers #pufc
@stanley_co: Thats a totally blinkered interview. Had 10/15 minutes when they had the ball but no way were on top and the goal from the penalty comes from nowhere. Totally one sided that game. Sending off was harsh but was also reckless and high so given the ref a decision to make.
