Phil SumblerMany accusations have been aimed at the Swans in recent games after a spate of penalties – two of them in the last minute of games – leading to discussions of favours coming from referees and that we are “cheating our way to promotion”
It started with a debatable award of a last minute penalty at Stoke and since then has led to Neil Warnock moaning about almost every decision following his side’s defeat at the Liberty last Saturday and even criticism of a midweek penalty we earned at Blackburn.
Most of us will accept that the Stoke penalty was fortunate but when you examine the other decisions given then each of them was the right call and therefore the correct outcome was achieved. I am sure some will read that and believe it to be a one-eyed view and maybe if the roles were reversed then the feeling would be different but each of the decisions (whether they are disallowed goals or penalties) was ultimately correct.
And that is a view echoed by former Norwich and Wales international Iwan Roberts who used his newspaper column to back up the Swans over the decisions amidst some of the allegations that have been made.
Writing in his column in the Eastern Daily Press, Roberts wrote: “Talking of Swansea, they moved level on points with second-placed Watford on Wednesday night after their 1-1 draw up at Ewood Park. It came thanks to an Andre Ayew penalty kick, his and Swansea’s fourth penalty in as many games, something that has really got under the skin and angered quite a few of their rival supporters.
“I like Swansea and have a lot of time for them as a football club. They have some great people working there that I’ve got to know over the years and are always very welcoming whenever I visit The Liberty.
“That’s why I feel the need to stick up for the Swans after some of the things that have been said about them and what they’ve been labelled as over the last couple of weeks – well, since they were awarded that last-minute penalty up at The Bet365 stadium last week.
“Ask any Swansea supporter and they will be honest enough to tell you that it wasn’t a penalty against Stoke when Kyle Naughton was adjudged to have been bought down with seconds of the game left. I think he anticipated contact which never happened and dived, simple as that. Every club’s had them given for them!
“You would think he’s the only player ever to have dived to win a penalty the way some people were going on about it!
“It’s made me quite angry the way people have been saying how Swansea are going to cheat their way to promotion after a couple of decisions have gone their way in the last couple of weeks, so I did a little bit of homework to fight their corner.
“Last season, Swansea were awarded four penalties in their 46 league games. This season they’ve been awarded five, four of which have been given since February 27. So up until then they had been given just one penalty in their opening 30 games – that doesn’t smell of a team trying to cheat their way to promotion if you ask me.”
With the Swans heading to Luton tomorrow to face the Hatters, Nathan Jones even referenced the penalties in his press conference yesterday when he said “I don’t like speaking about other teams and players, but I was at the game at Blackburn on Tuesday night.
“My immediate reaction, which has been backed up, was that it probably wasn’t a penalty.
“Then I watched the Stoke game and thought it was a tough one, I haven’t actually seen the Middlesbrough one, but I’ve been told that that was extremely harsh as well.
“Sometimes the wind blows your way, but we’ll be hoping that no poor decisions are made by our players and anyone else in the stadium.”
Which of course is a lot of words for someone that ‘doesn’t like talking about other teams.
The penalties row rumbles on!
