Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has slammed Roger East for not awarding West Ham United a penalty against Burnley on Saturday.
Following the Hammers’ 4-2 victory over the Clarets, Clattenburg claims that the referee that had taken charge of the clash should have pointed to the penalty spot when Grady Diangana was brought down by Steven Defour.
Even though the young attacker was singled out by Burnley boss Sean Dyche for not making a big deal, Clattenburg slammed East for being “rusty” for his lack of games.
“I am shocked that West Ham were not awarded a penalty when Grady Diangana was felled by Steven Defour. Sean Dyche praised Diangana for not making a meal of it but that is not why it was not given,” he said in the Daily Mail.
“When a player is racing into the box with a defender in pursuit, the referee must be as close as possible but Roger East’s positioning was wrong.
“This was only his second Premier League match after failing a fitness test. A lack of games makes you rusty.”
OPINION
Even though West Ham should have rightly been awarded a penalty for this flashpoint, it is not like it would have made an overall impact on the result anyway. Yes, admittedly players go down far too easily these days, especially pacey ones like Diangana – but Clattenburg is right. They may have won 4-2, but who knows how the game may have panned out if the penalty was correctly awarded. Dyche did praise the 20-year-old for not making a meal out of it, but that does not mean it should have been immediately dismissed. This, however, is at the fault of the referee, who Clattenburg claimed was rather “rusty” during this fixture. Ultimately, if the other goals had not been scored, this penalty decision could have affected the entire scoreline for West Ham, but luckily for them, they proved to be too good on the day.
