Alan Shearer backs Sunderland after controversy vs Bournemouth, says he isn’t biased
Alan Shearer believes Sunderland should have been awarded a penalty in their draw at Bournemouth.
Sunderland ended their run of three straight Premier League defeats but they would have rightly felt aggrieved following their 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Eliezer Mayenda put Regis Le Bris‘ team in front in the 18th minute, but before that, they had a big penalty shout when Bournemouth’s Alex Jimenez brought down Enzo Le Fee in the box.
Referee Jared Gillett waved away their protests, and Tyler Adams was also, arguably, fortunate to stay on the pitch after his studs-up challenge on Granit Xhaka only led to a yellow card.
Sunderland’s frustrations threatened to boil over when Evanilson grabbed an equaliser in the 63rd minute on a day of what might have been for the Stadium of Light outfit.
Enzo Le Fee is ‘baffled’ and so is Ashley Williams over penalty decision
In just the third minute of the game, Bournemouth full-back Jimenez clumsily felled Le Fee in the penalty area from behind, with Gillett close by, but the call didn’t go Sunderland’s way.
Shortly after, Trai Hume was awarded a free-kick for a similar challenge by Alex Scott, which only added to Sunderland’s exasperation.
Speaking on Match of the Day, former Everton defender Ashley Williams said he was “baffled” by the decision not to award a penalty.
He said: “Jarred Gillett has got this completely wrong. He’s got a good view of it; we see Jimenez into the back of Le Fee, it’s a clear penalty.
“There’s a little bit of forearm in there, there’s contact with the leg. Le Fee is baffled, and so am I, because that is a penalty.
“To compound it and make it worse, this was a few minutes after. Hume is on the ball, I think that’s less contact, and he’s given that foul. So we are just asking for a little bit of consistency from the referees. This is why everyone gets frustrated with it.”
Newcastle hero and Sunderland nemesis Shearer also admitted that the Mackems were very hard done by with this call.
He added, “Just to show they don’t think I am biased, I think that was a penalty as well. Definite penalty.”
What is Enzo Le Fee’s penalty record this season?
Le Fee joined Sunderland on loan from Roma for the second half of last season with a mandatory obligation to buy him if they got promoted.
Sure enough, the Black Cats won the Championship play-off final over Sheffield United, and with it, Le Fee joined on a four-year deal for £19million.
This season, the 26-year-old has scored four goals and added as many assists in 27 Premier League games – with three of those coming from the spot.
| Enzo Le Fee’s penalty record this season | Scored or missed |
| Sunderland 2-1 Brentford vs Caoimhin Kelleher | Scored |
| Sunderland 3-2 Bournemouth vs Djordje Petrovic | Scored |
| Brentford 3-0 Sunderland vs Kelleher | Missed |
| Sunderland 1-3 Fulham vs Bernd Leno | Scored |
Although Le Fee did one of the worst penalty misses you will see for a very long time away at Brentford in January, he has been fairly reliable with spotkicks.
He has beaten Bournemouth goalkeeper Djorde Petrovic from 12 yards earlier this season and would have backed himself to deliver the goods again.
Alas, it wasn’t to be. Incidentally, the draw means Sunderland are now 12 points above the relegation zone.
They can hit the 40-point mark if they win at fellow promoted side Leeds United on Tuesday, and they will hope the decisions at Elland Road go their way this time.
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