Wolves will be concerned with referee appointment for crunch Sunderland clash - he once left Fabio Silva in tears
Wolverhampton Wanderers return from the international break with a crunch clash away at Sunderland
The Premier League’s bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers still have yet to pick up a victory in the league, but will be in higher spirits after an upturn in performances prior to the international break.
Vitor Pereira’s side came just minutes away from securing a crucial victory in each of their two most recent matches, but late equalisers by both Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion broke Old Gold hearts and ensured that their quest to rise out of the bottom three will take a little longer than initially hoped. They will need to rely on their players being fit and firing after their international exploits.
A trip to newly-promoted Sunderland is next up on Saturday (15:00 BST), before fellow new boys Burnley visit Molineux on October 26. The magnitude of these two fixtures is not lost on fans and players alike, who know the impact which a victory or two on the board could have on their season moving forward. But Wolves have received some concerning news ahead of this weekend.
Match officials for Sunderland vs Wolves clash named
The Premier League have officially announced the match officials for this weekend’s set of fixtures on their website, with the appointments for Wolves’ trip to Sunderland sure to raise a few eyebrows with the West Midlands outfit.
The referee for the game is to be Rob Jones, alongside an officiating team consisting of assistants Neil Davies and Nick Greenhalgh, with the fourth official Anthony Backhouse. VAR for the match will be Paul Howard, aided by assistant VAR Adrian Holmes.
Wolves in fact have a solid record in matches overseen by Jones, having won eight out of 15 matches in which the 38-year-old has refereed. But one particular incident will stick in the memory, and not for the right reasons. Wolves lost 2-1 at Sheffield United in November 2023, as the Blades were gifted their first win of the season thanks to a heavily controversial 100th-minute Oliver Norwood penalty.
Refereeing decision sent Fabio Silva to tears and led to backlash
Wolves were on the wrong end of a series of contentious VAR calls under Gary O’Neil that season, and this was one of the most infuriating of them all. Fabio Silva was penalised for a foul on George Baldock in the box, despite making minimal contact as the Blades player put his foot directly into the path of the former Wolves forward. Jones pointed straight to the spot and the decision was not overturned.
Silva was reduced to tears at the final whistle as the 21-year-old, who had often been criticised during his time at Molineux and was struggling for confidence at the time, was left feeling as though he had cost his side the game in a brief cameo after coming on in the 81st minute.
The game-deciding decision led to much backlash after the match, with a unanimous verdict reached on Sky Sports. While Gary Lineker took to X and said: “Another stinking decision goes against @Wolves. Exactly the same as last week v Newcastle. Another error from VAR.”
Former Wolves boss Gary O’Neil was left fuming at the decision. “It’s not a penalty. I spoke to the referee, and I told him why it wasn’t a penalty. He says there’s contact – Fabio’s shinpad probably grazes Baldock’s calf,” said O’Neil. “I’ve watched it loads of times and there’s minimal contact and if we’re giving fouls for that, there would have been a million fouls in that football match.
“The referee is so quick to want to give it, but it’s never a clear penalty. He needs to wait, be calm and if you’ve made a big error VAR will tell you. I’ve given up on penalties. I’m honestly lost, I don’t know where to go with it. I’m told to go in and have a sensible conversation, but he still watched it telling me it’s a penalty, which tells me we’re in a crazy place.”