Thursday 15 November 2018 15:27, UK
Southampton manager Mark Hughes has questioned the experience of referee Simon Hooper after his side's controversial 1-1 draw with Watford at St Mary's on Saturday.
The home team were leading 1-0 through Manolo Gabbiadini's first-half goal when Charlie Austin thought he had doubled their advantage with a deflected strike midway through the second half.
However, after consulting assistant Harry Lennard, Hooper - in just his fourth Premier League game - decided incorrectly that it was Southampton defender Maya Yoshida, standing in an offside position, who had deflected the shot past Foster rather than a Watford player.
"We should not be a test bed for new referees because unfortunately the likes of ourselves, Watford, will always get the referees who are learning their trade," said Hughes.
"There is no way that the referee today was going to be given the Manchester derby for proper reasons. But it is still just as important to us, so where do we go with it?
"The only thing we can console ourselves with is they have held their hands up and said they made a mistake.
"But it is two points that we dearly needed and the consequences of a poor performance from them all, I have to say, then we have not got the points we deserved from the performance."
The Welshman was particularly angry with the officials after their decision denied the Saints a first league win at home this season.
There is no way that the referee today was going to be given the Manchester derby
"Unfortunately the officials have cost us dearly today," said Hughes. "At 1-0 to the good we get an opportunity, it is a clear goal, Charlie dispatches a chance in their box.
"A clear goal and not one of their players appealed for offside, we are celebrating it is 2-0 and the game is over in my view.
"Then all of a sudden the officials deem fit to play a hand for some reason, imagination or whatever, I have no idea.
"But the referee has decided that Maya Yoshida, who was slightly in an offside position, but who clearly was not interfering with play… he has interpreted that moment in the game as Maya touching and heading the ball in, which is ridiculous if we are honest.
"And unfortunately that has cost us, in my view, the game because clearly at that point we have got into what we believe is a 2-0 situation where we are leading the game and there is about a quarter of an hour left.
"At that point at 2-0, we would clearly have just seen the game out and won the game. As it was, it got chalked off and emotionally we have maybe exerted a little bit of energy and then all of a sudden Watford are encouraged and it changes the game.
"So all we ask of the officials and all we ever ask from myself as managers, coaches, players, is that they get the match-defining moments, the ones that have a direct bearing on the result, right.
"And unfortunately today they did not."
