Wolves saw a late equaliser against West Ham United controversially ruled out yesterday – and chairman Jeff Shi has this morning released a statement about the incident, following a season of bad decisions.
Wolves lost 2-1 yesterday at Molineux, and there was huge controversy at the end of the game.
Max Kilman scored a header deep into injury-time, but it was then checked for offside by VAR.
Tawanda Chirewa was stood in an offside position in front of West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, and the goal was ruled out. Chirewa did not impede Fabianski, who could see over him, or affect his movement.
Gary O’Neil blasted the decision after the game, branding it ‘terrible’.
It has been a rotten season for Wolves in terms of decisions made by officials that have cost the team crucial points.
And now, in a surprising development, chairman Jeff Shi has spoken about the latest incident in an official club statement…
Jeff Shi releases surprise statement after seeing Wolves get stung by another VAR decision
Chairman Shi does not communicate too often, so today’s statement comes as a real surprise.
He has a quarterly column with the E&S, and does offers his thoughts about the club every summer and takes questions from fans. But by and large, he doesn’t communicate all that often.
So this clearly indicates that he is very frustrated and simply could not stay silent.
He has released a statement this morning, actually questioning the purpose of VAR.
He said: “When a goal is scored and not one person inside the stadium questions the validity of that goal, including both sets of players, coaches, fans and even the match officials themselves, it’s time to question whether someone remote disallowing that goal is really what football wants or needs.
“It is our sincere hope that the Premier League and PGMOL recognise the importance of addressing these concerns to uphold the integrity of the competition and demonstrate why the Premier League is regarded as the best in the world.
“The club will continue to support our players and coaches to keep pushing hard, together with our fans, to take on every remaining game with the passion and determination that has made this team a success, and one that we’re proud to support.”
The full statement can be read here, where there is also big praise for the job Gary O’Neil is doing.
Well said, Jeff
The likelihood is that nothing will come from this statement from Shi, but who knows.
It’s just good that he has actually said something, because it is something a lot of supporters have been wanting to see amid such a frustrating season. He does speak for many.
Shi makes some really good points, and has suggested that the integrity of the league is in jeopardy. It is a well-articulated statement, and pulls no punches.
It at least shines a harsher light on how poor the officiating standards are in the Premier League and how bad a state the PGMOL is in at the moment. Wolves fans will just hope something comes of it, although many will not hold their breath