'Not at Premier League level': Fulham's Silva attacks referee after Ipswich draw | first division

A frustrated Fulham manager Marco Silva described referee Darren Bond's performance as “not at Premier League level” after he opted not to send off Ipswich defender Leif Davis. during the 2-2 draw between both teams.

Fulham had to settle for a fifth draw in six games against tenacious opponents who had twice led through Sammie Szmodics and a Liam Delap penalty. But Silva and his players felt that Davis should have been sent off in the 28th minute after illegally stopping Harry Wilson's run towards goal, Bond showing a yellow card and presumably feeling that Ipswich's Dara O'Shea was well positioned to cover.

“It's a clear red card,” Silva said. “We can't control it. The referee's performance was not at the level that first division demands, in my opinion. When (Wilson) touched the ball he went face to face with the goalkeeper. It's hard to understand.

“It was a really difficult afternoon for the referee and really difficult to explain some decisions. “I can’t explain some of them to you.”

Silva considered that the match's three penalties, two of which were converted by Raúl Jiménez, were awarded fairly, but highlighted the fact that the VAR had to intervene before the Mexican's first penalty was awarded. Initially, Bond had given the signal for the game to continue. “We agree that it was a clear penalty,” he said. “The referee was in a privileged position to decide and the VAR had to sanction the penalty.”

In the end, Silva admitted that Fulham had to be “disappointed” with their performance and lamented the mistakes of the defensive line behind Ipswich's goals. “We are too soft in the way we are defending at the moment,” he said.

His counterpart Kieran McKenna described “mixed emotions” after a point added to his 18th-placed team's victory over Chelsea. Ipswich had chances to overtake Fulham but took heart with a disciplined display. “Very happy and proud of many aspects of the performance, disappointed by the two penalties we conceded,” he said.

Ben Godfrey watched from the stands after completing his loan move to Ipswich from Serie A title-chasing Atalanta. McKenna said the former Everton player, capped twice by England, would be a valuable addition at right-back or in the central defense. “We're positive about it, we're happy to have it,” he said. “It's an area of ​​the team that we wanted to strengthen.”