THE QUEENS Park Rangers co-owner and vice-chairman, Amit Bhatia, has called for the introduction of a challenge system similar to that used in cricket and tennis after seeing the club eliminated from the FA Cup by Chelsea courtesy of a dubious penalty.
Contact appeared minimal between Clint Hill and Daniel Sturridge, with QPR incensed at the decision as Juan Mata converted the resultant spot-kick.
The Rangers manager, Mark Hughes, said Sturridge had gone down “a little bit easily” and claimed Dean had told his goalkeeper, Paddy Kenny, that he had felt obliged to give the penalty “because the lad was about to head the ball in, which wasn’t my take on it, to be perfectly honest”.
“A very unfortunate penalty,” said Bhatia via Twitter. “I’m convinced it’s time to allow the challenge system in football. Almost all other sports around the world allow it now. We have to have some kind of video replay system so that harsh decisions can be reviewed. So much is at stake in every game. In a season when results count, every decision really does matter and I can already think of a few decisions that have cost us points [in the Premier League].
“One challenge per half per manager wouldn’t slow the game down by any more than 30 seconds. I think it’s got to happen. Every fan and player in the land would appreciate a fair review of a difficult decision. It’s not rocket science. And my rant isn’t about today’s decision. It’s a general observation about football.”
Those sentiments were shared by the QPR captain, Joey Barton, who described the penalty award as “very, very soft” having seen footage of the incident. “Sturridge stepping on that landmine does not help the ref, either,” he tweeted. “This is why referees should be allowed to look at penalty and red card decisions during the game. These things are happening every week now.”
QPR are hopeful of signing the former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse from Lazio, and the Mali midfielder Samba Diakite is close to completing a switch from Nancy. The latter was granted permission yesterday to fly from Gabon, where he is playing in the Africa Cup of Nations, to undergo a medical and finalise a loan move, which could be made permanent at the end of the season.
Guardian Service
