"Clearly biased" - Sheffield United captain Anel Ahmedhodzic breaks silence on late penalty controversy v West Ham

Anel Ahmedhodzic, the Sheffield United captain, has hit back at what he described as "clearly biased" coverage of the late penalty shout for West Ham United in their dramatic 2-2 draw at Bramall Lane yesterday. United rescued a point thanks to Oli McBurnie's 103rd-minute spot-kick, the latest recorded goal in Premier League history.

But there was still time for more drama as West Ham went up the other end after the restart and appealed for a penalty after Ahmedhodzic and Jarrod Bowen tangled in the box as a cross came in. Pundits Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand, both former Hammers players, believed it should have been another spot-kick for the visitors - despite incorrectly attributing the 'foul' to Ahmedhodzic's teammate Jack Robinson - but referee Michael Salisbury waved away the appeals and the breathless game finished 2-2.

“Absolutely it was penalty,” Cole said. “In the last minute of a game, defenders have got to keep their composure. That’s a rugby tackle. The referee has made three massive decisions that have lit this place up. The atmosphere was white hot. He probably just lost his nerve at that time. You need to be a brave referee in situations like that and just referee the game.”

Ferdinand added: "I don’t know how they haven’t looked at that and gone: ''That’s a stonewall penalty’. If they called that, this place would have erupted.” Blades boss Chris Wilder did not think there was much in the incident - despite admitting "Of course I'm going to say that" - and Ahmedhodzic had his say on the controversy via his Twitter account on Sunday evening.

"Clearly biased," the defender posted. "You can see ... the unedited footage where he pulls me down with him which makes me lose sight of the ball. Obviously it’s been edited to make it look like a pen to West Ham."

West Ham had earlier gone ahead through Maxwel Cornet before Ben Brereton Diaz's debut strike dragged the Blades level just before half-time. James Ward-Prowse looked to have won it for the visitors from the penalty spot, after Gus Hamer fouled Danny Ings, but United, who finished with 10 men after Rhian Brewster was sent off for a wild tackle on Emerson, kept their composure and levelled from the spot after Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola wiped out McBurnie.

Ahmedhodzic, who skippered the Blades despite a week of speculation linking him with a move away from Bramall Lane, also tweeted: "Good performance from the team, felt like we deserved more than 1 point today."