Sunderland: Jay Bothroyd in agreement with Dermot Gallagher over Habib Diarra incident vs Brighton
Dermot Gallagher saw no reason for the game to be stopped after Habib Diarra went down in the build-up to Brighton’s goal.
Sunderland suffered a third consecutive home defeat against Brighton on Saturday, with Yankuba Minteh scoring the only goal of the game.
However, the goal wasn’t without controversy, after Diarra appeared to be shoved to the floor by Lewis Dunk, just seconds before the corner was whipped into the box.
The Senegal midfielder went down holding his head, and remained on the floor until after the goal had been scored.
Sunderland players were furious that the game wasn’t stopped, but both Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd believe it was the right decision.
Thomas Kirk right to allow Brighton goal to stand
Whether Sunderland did enough to win the game is up for debate, but it was a performance that at least deserved something.
However, a lack of cutting edge in the final third prevented them from taking advantage of the domination they often had in the game.
Minteh’s goal was the deciding factor in the end, and despite protests for it to be disallowed, Gallagher agreed with Thomas Kirk’s decision to allow it to stand.
Via Ref Watch on Sky Sports, the former referee said: “He hasn’t pushed him in the head or anything, he hasn’t knocked him over. He’s not gone down with a head injury. So I think play on.”
In response to Gallagher’s claims, Bothroyd said: “I agree with Dermot. The referee just hasn’t seen it. The game has to carry on.”
Habib Diarra did himself no favours
Whether he was pushed or not is one thing, but for Diarra to have stayed on the ground throughout the entire passage of play was poor from him.
It was clear that a decision wasn’t going to go his way, and it was just as clear that the injury was not as severe as he was making it out to be, having got back to his feet after the goal to confront Kirk about his decision.
Diarra’s performance in general was poor, and with the Tyne-Wear derby up next for the Black Cats, he would be lucky to make it into the starting 11 depending on the injury situation that unfolds over the next few days.
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