Due to the recent incident against Fulham, Gary O’Neil and his Wolves club face a huge point deduction that could see them drop out of the EPL.
Latest Wolverhampton Wanderers news from BirminghamLive as VAR controversies against Man Utd and Newcastle Utd are revisited in Premier League defeat at Fulham
Frustrated Wolves boss Gary O’Neil has asked whether headbutts are now allowed in the Premier League after seeing his team lose 3-2 at Fulham in another game marred by VAR inconsistencies.
Wolves went down 3-2 at Craven Cottage after having two contentious penalties awarded against them, including one for the winner scored four minutes into added time at the end of the game.
But it was an incident involving Wolves skipper Max Kilman that also riled O’Neil as he discussed yet another game where his team appeared to be on the wrong end of some decisive VAR calls.
Fulham striker Carlos Vinicius looked to have made contact with the nose of the defender on 88 minutes in an off-the-ball incident and was shown a yellow card by referee Michael Salisbury.
But O’Neil told the Wolves official website: “Vinicius should have been sent off for headbutting Max. It was clear. He headbutts him on the nose, but he isn’t sent off, he’s given a yellow. He [Salisbury] debated that with me, and said it was a ‘soft’ headbutt. Which I said was crazy. Absolutely crazy.
“So we can headbutt people on a football pitch as long as it’s deemed ‘soft’ or ‘not hard enough’? My son, watching that at home, and millions of other children watching that, we’ve told them that you can headbutt someone on a football pitch as long as it’s ‘not too hard’?”
O’Neil’s mood was hardly improved when he later admitted: “They have since sent a representative who said by the letter of the law that should have been a red card as well.”
Alex Iwobi had put Fulham ahead after seven minutes, Matheus Cunha equalising before a second half of three penalties – Hwang Hee-Chan drawing Wolves level again in between Willian’s two controversial goals.
Having seen his team already penalised by errant VAR calls in games against Manchester United, Newcastle United, Luton and Sheffield United this season, O’Neil admitted the incidents at Craven Cottage may have finally turned him against the system.
VAR sent the referee to the screen to award the injury-time penalty against Wolves after Joao Gomes was adjudged to have brought Harry Wilson down in the box, Willian scoring his second spot kick of the game to seal all three points for Fulham.
O’Neil highlighted the headbutt on Kilman, the late penalty and an incident when Fulham’s Tim Ream did not receive a second yellow for a foul on Hwang Hee-Chan in his post-match interviews.
