Wilson Isidor guilty of ‘outrageous’ act in Sunderland v Coventry – Exclusive
Wilson Isidor couldn’t build on his first-leg goal as Sunderland beat Coventry at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night.
Regis Le Bris’ men will face Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final after Dan Ballard scored a sensational winner deep into extra-time at the Stadium of Light.
But the game didn’t get off to the best of starts for Sunderland, who struggled to cope with Coventry throughout most of the first half.
Keith Hackett blasts Isidor for blatant simulation v Coventry
Isidor was the hero for Sunderland in the first-leg win over Coventry, but he instantly got himself in the bad books in the second leg on Tuesday night.
After just 12 minutes, referee Andy Madley booked the 24-year-old for an attempt to win a free-kick on the edge of the Coventry penalty area at the Stadium of Light.
Bobby Thomas misjudged a high ball towards his goal, allowing Isidor to run at goal.
However, after coming under pressure from Coventry’s defence, Isidor opted to spring himself forwards in a diving motion.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists | Yellow cards | Red cards | |
| Isidor | 45 | 13 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
Former Premier League and FIFA-listed referee Keith Hackett was delighted to see Madley spot such an obvious attempt to deceive him.
“It was terrific to see referee Andy Madley set an example to his colleagues by correctly issuing a yellow card to Wilson Isidor for an outrageous act of simulation,” Hackett told Mackem News. “Well done, referee.”
Hackett was then asked if players should be dealt a retrospective one-match suspension if they’re found guilty of simulation.
He believes that’s a route the PGMOL should take to prevent incidents like Isidor’s yellow card against Coventry from happening so regularly.
“It is refreshing to see a referee detect a clear act of simulation and go straight to his pocket and produce a yellow card,” the former PGMOL general manager added.
“This is the approach that the PGMOL should take in order to stop this blatant cheating.”
Sunderland v Coventry ruined by childish antics
Who would have wanted to be Madley on Tuesday night?
It was a tough game for the Huddersfield-born referee to officiate.
Tensions were high with Sunderland going into the game with a one-goal lead but players from both Coventry and the Black Cats could have acted a lot better than they did.
Silly pushes, blatant cheating, goalkeepers throwing their weight around – at times it was like a lunch-time clash between Year 10 and Year 11.