Gary O’Neil agrees with Pablo Sarabia after ‘controversial’ Wolves incident vs Sheffield United

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O'Neil believes Pablo Sarabia's act of sportsmanship against Sheffield United was the correct thing to do despite the frustration from supporters.

The Spaniard, who scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory for Wolves, could've made it two as Blades goalkeeper Ivo Grbic was found in no man's land when one of his teammates went down. Sarabia refused to shoot from range when Grbic's misplaced pass reached his feet, though, instead kicking the ball out of play to allow Vini Souza to receive treatment.

It was a controversial choice from Sarabia at the time and it didn't go down particularly well with Wolves fans as there was an open goal to score into and it wasn't a head injury. O'Neil was asked about the incident in the post-match press conference and he thinks it wouldn't have been right if Wolves had gone on to score.

“Pablo did the right thing, 100 per cent. I would’ve felt uncomfortable myself had Pablo carried on," O'Neil said. "Initially, I didn’t really know what was going on. I thought the goalkeeper had just misplaced the pass.

“It seems like he knew his player was down injured. It would’ve been easier if he’d just kicked it off the pitch rather than kicking it to Pablo, it would’ve cleared it up a bit more. But you know, Pablo did the right thing. 

“If Sheffield United went on to equalise I would’ve still given you the same answer because the reason for us not winning wouldn’t have been Pablo doing the right thing, it would’ve been us not being good enough in the second half," O'Neil continued.

Wanderers were indeed not at their best after the interval and the Blades could well have taken something from the game. A lack of forward passes and some rather stale play in between the lines led to frustration growing at Molineux but the Old Gold held on.

Another important three points move Wolves up to eighth in the Premier League, above Newcastle United, West Ham United and Chelsea. Brighton & Hove Albion, in the final European spot, are merely one point ahead. Wanderers host the Seagulls on Wednesday, albeit in a different competition.