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Birmingham taunt West Brom fans as controversial penalty has Carlos Corberan furious

Birmingham players took to taunt West Brom fans in celebration as a controversial penalty for the Blues has manager Carlos Corberan furious.

The hosts climbed above their opponents into fifth place in the Championship standings after coming from a goal down to win the West Midlands derby 3-1 on Friday night.

John Swift netted his sixth goal of the season to put the Baggies ahead on six minutes, however, Birmingham levelled through Juninho Bacuna’s penalty.

This had been controversially awarded after Cedric Kipre and Koji Miyoshi both slipped as they challenged for the ball.

Dion Sanderson then made it 2-1 with a header to turn the game around before the break, then Gary Gardner produced a stunning free-kick on 87 minutes, within five minutes of being brought on.

The Blues jumped from 12th up to fifth as a result of their second successive win, with West Brom dropping down to seventh.

Corberan took aim at referee James Linington’s call to award the penalty. He said as per Birmingham Mail: “Last year was a fair defeat. This year was different. Before the penalty we started well but after we didn’t give enough continuity in the attacking half. We were defensively in control, we had opportunities to create more chances and we didn’t do it well enough. After this, it’s difficult to analyse the game tonight without talking about the penalty – it’s changed the game.

“It affects the result a lot, unfortunately. When you’re a coach, and you put your life in this work – believe me, I put my life in this work – you receive a report from the referees. When we talk about the last two games, there were five actions – and this is not my subjective evaluation, it’s the referee’s report – that were penalties for us. They were inaccurate decisions by the referees.

“Then when you go to the pitch and you suffer defeat after a penalty decision like this one, imagine how you can feel, when you put your life in this work, when you make your best and then you receive that report. Today, it’s not that the referee whistled for a penalty to you, it’s that the Birmingham player slipped in front of Kipre and you concede a penalty.

“After we can talk. Second half was better for us, we didn’t score and they counter attack. Their goals – a penalty, a second phase of a set-piece and a free kick. They have accuracy and today we competed against more than just 11 players.”

“The first thing is that I am talking with all the respect and I value the integrity of the referees. I know how difficult the job is. Our job is difficult too. When you see the wrong decision, plus the accumulation of previous decisions – imagine one of these incorrect decisions, in the 93rd minute, injures your striker for eight weeks.

“It’s true that as a coach I am not talking like this because I am looking for an excuse. I want to defend my club. I am not watching many incorrect penalty decisions, I am seeing a decision against us which was not a penalty given against us, and it had a massive impact. We were playing a competitive game, we expected this, and unfortunately it emotionally affected a lot our players.

“When something in football is unfair, it’s difficult to accept. I was feeling frustration in the pitch, something I never feel. Tonight I feel it a lot. Sometimes it’s better not to talk too much because I have more an emotional mind than a rational mind.”

Have you had the chance to speak to Cedric after the event?

“The decision affected the mind of every player, because a game you have under control changes, from an action which is difficult to understand. In the second half we had to forget and try and put it behind us and focus on what we could control.

“In our performance in the second half, the statistics were clear – we attacked more than them, we created more than them, but clearly we didn’t score the goal. Our level of attacking on opponents’ box has been less than the level of their defending of the box.”

On the decision to award a free kick for Birmingham’s third goal, he replied: “If I talk about decisions today – in one free-kick Chalobah was taking there was a hand [in the box], in the finishing action that [Dion] Sanderson stopped there was something there, and in this [third goal] action I didn’t see a foul.”

When asked if he spoke to the referee: “Today I am not going to ask for anything, today I have to tell you my thoughts, because I never like to talk about the referees because I know how difficult there job is. I repeat to you, it’s not about the referee tonight because I don’t have doubts about his integrity.

“The only thing is…you receive reports, and today the fourth official was the referee that didn’t whistle at Bristol City, where Maja was injured. I was talking to him about this, but it doesn’t mean anything now to talk with you about something I cannot change.”

On the post-match report not making for good reading: “The report I think is good, to know. But I don’t know if it’s better to think it’s a penalty. It’s easier for me today if the action would have been a penalty. If it’s a penalty it’s a game we didn’t manage or arrive on time – it’s easier to accept the defeat.

“The difficulty is to accept in the way it was, because I think emotionally it has impacted my team a lot. Should it impact or not? I think it’s normal to be impacted. I remember the final in Wembley, there was two complicated decisions for the referee and I never talked because in the things I cannot change I don’t like to talk.

“Today I feel something I didn’t feel before, because it’s not the fact the referee is wrong to not see a penalty, it’s different, the referee doesn’t understand a penalty in an action – but that he understands a penalty in an action that was not. That’s why for me it’s more frustrating.

“In football you can have a penalty and have doubts, I understand the doubts, but when you doubts the key thing in football is don’t whistle. Those decisions are easier to accept because you understand they didn’t whistle because they didn’t see clearly – but when it’s the opposite…I didn’t see live or on the TV neither.”

On his players: “It’s not that we played quite well (or not), we came here and wanted to win this derby and unfortunately we couldn’t and we all have the same frustration. The players in the rest time were talking between them to try and forget the action because they were very, very affected and to instead focus on the things we can control, that was to compete in the game.

“It’s difficult, in football in one month nobody is going to remember about this – but I will never forget, I guarantee you.”

On VAR: “If the VAR helps to get to the correct decision (then) yes, if it doesn’t help…”

On if he felt cheated: “I feel upset and difficult to manage the frustration that happened tonight and maybe we would have lost anyway (if not for the penalty), maybe we lose another way and talk about a different game, but we need to talk about us.

“Still after this action we have the opportunity, a clear chance with the finish of Furlong, it’s true we need to be better in the attacking box, it’s something we can work on. We can work in the attacking half managing the ball, because we didn’t manage it well enough in the first half. I cannot tell you many things we should’ve done better tonight.”

Here’s how fans reacted as Birmingham take to taunt West Brom fans while the controversial penalty has Carlos Corberan furious…

@GlosWhite: As a neutral that’s awful. The Birmingham player clearly slips before contact. Absolutely no way the WBA player can react/pull out of the challenge after that

@Brightonfan: That is shambolic, well and truly shambolic. Have these referees been promoted from Sunday League?!!

@NickGri73026857: He gave a penalty for that… laughable.

@MPwba: One of the worst penalty decisions I think I’ve ever seen in my life

@TuckyVersionOne: One of the worst penalty decisions I’ve seen in my life. Situations like that, ref should have to come out and explain what exactly he thought he saw.

@ellislewis518: Never a pen

@Birchie49: VAR is not perfect but the officiating at this level is awful

@DeanSmithUrThe1: How was that a penalty 🤣🤣🤣 Officiating in England is finished

@a_cheevers6: There’s no way on earth that’s a penalty

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