Southend manager slams ‘disgraceful and scandalous’ decision in draw with Wrexham

Southend United manager Kevin Maher slams a ‘disgraceful and scandalous’ decision in the National League draw with Wrexham on Saturday.

Referee Aaron Bannister was criticised following the Shrimpers’ controversial clash, which ended 0-0 at Roots Hall.

Jake Hyde looked to have given Southend the lead midway through the second half, however, having originally given the goal, Bannister instead disallowed the effort after consulting with his assistant on the far side.

This of course left Maher fuming, and made that clear come the final whistle.

“It’s disgraceful,” said Maher after the game.

“In the first half you get an inkling when everything is going one way.

“They’re claiming for handball I think but when I spoke to the fourth official after I’d calmed down he said it was given for offside.

“If it was offside put your flag up but he hasn’t done that at any stage.

“He’s waited for them to surround him and changed his mind.

“It’s scandalous really.

“I try my best not to speak about referees but they dictate games and they’re not good enough.”

And it was not just the disallowed goal which frustrated Maher.

“You watch it back and Marcus Dackers was through down the left hand side before being pulled back and I just have no idea what they are seeing,” said Maher.

“He’s given a handball against Noor, there’s another one with Gus right in front of the linesman and he’s pulling Collin up twice for having the ball two centimetres from where he thinks it should be.

“Come on, get the big ones right. That’s all that matters.”

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson felt the referee made the correct call by disallowing the Southend goal.

“I thought it was handball at the time and I expected the referee to give it,” said the Reds’ boss.

“Then the linesman has gone over and I don’t know whether he has given it for offside or handball in the end.

“But I was confident when he went over to the linesman that if we’d have seen it from where we were and the linesman is a lot closer than we were, he must have seen it.

“We were pleased to get that decision but I would have been disappointed not to have got it.”

Parkinson had no qualms about Hyde lining up against his parent club.

“We were keen to get the deal done and bring Sam to the club,” said Parkinson.

“We didn’t want anything to hinder that.

“I wasn’t sure whether there was a rule where loan players couldn’t play because there are possible ramifications if players were to go back.

“At the time I was happy and wanted to make sure we got Sam, and did that swap deal with Jake.

“There were other clubs interested in Sam at the time and part of the reason that we got him was they wanted Jake in part exchange.”

Southend United head coach Kevin Maher has been highly critical of referee Aaron Bannister following their goalless draw against high-flying Wrexham at Roots Hall. The Blues had a Jake Hyde goal controversially ruled out for offside during the second half https://t.co/lTcPRai4o3 pic.twitter.com/5KrxGUUqsH

— BBC Sport Essex (@BBCEssexSport) September 18, 2022

Wrexham beat Dagenham and Redbridge 4-1, securing a fifth successive win, on Tuesday. While this wasn’t replicated at Southend, Parkinson was satisfied with a point which keeps his side second in the National League.

“I said to the lads that after the way we played on Tuesday, there was no way they were going to give us the time that we had on Tuesday night,” said Parkinson.

“They were going to make it as difficult as they possibly could and they did.

“At times we took that extra touch in the first half and got caught.

“The fluency of our play wasn’t as good as it was Tuesday and I think there was an element of what Southend did and also the conditions played into that.

“But I thought we dug deep and there was some very good, strong performances in key areas and a point on your travels is decent.

“We always want to win but we will take the point.”

“I have a lot of respect for Wrexham, from the owners to the fans, the staff and players,” said Jake Hyde.
“They’re a brilliant bunch and I have a lot of respect for them but this is my club now and this is who I play for.

“Even with the celebration, I will always celebrate scoring a goal.

“That’s what I’m here to do and I’m gutted it didn’t count.

“It’s unusual to play against your parent club and we got confirmation yesterday.

“But I would always want to play because I don’t want to miss anymore football.”

💬 “Everyone is all in it together, and that goes a long way. We’ve got a proper squad here and we’re capable of doing things.”

Jake Hyde after yesterday’s 0-0 draw with Wrexham. Watch the full interview on Blues TV.

— Southend United FC (@SUFCRootsHall) September 18, 2022