Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg does "not blame" referee Jon Moss for not awarding penalties against Nottingham Forest during the Championship play-off final against Huddersfield Town.
The Reds' opponents felt hard done to not be awarded a penalty late on at Wembley Stadium when both Harry Toffolo and Lewis O’Brien fell to the floor inside the 18-yard box ten minutes apart without receiving a decision. Toffolo instead received a yellow card after being adjudged to have dived with Jack Colback in attendance, while the O'Brien incident involving Max Lowe was ignored.
Video assistant referee Paul Tierney also did not overrule the on-field referee for either decision. Clattenburg believes that the second shout "did not look good" but stopped short of blaming the VAR official.
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"I can see why VAR Paul Tierney did not overturn Jon Moss’ decision that Harry Toffolo had dived in the penalty area," in a column for the Daily Mail. "Did Forest’s Jack Colback make contact? The replays were inconclusive, so it was not a clear and obvious error.
"Huddersfield had more of a case with their second penalty claim. Lewis O’Brien fell under pressure from Max Lowe, who was accused of fouling him from behind. It was not the easiest thing to see in real time, so I do not blame Moss for letting play continue.
"VAR had the luxury of super slow-mo, and that did not look good for Lowe and Forest, but Tierney decided not to disagree with the retiring referee."
