Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder raises referee question in passionate post-Portsmouth rant
Chris Wilder was furious with referee Oliver Langford after Hamza Choudhury was sent off in Sheffield United’s 3-2 defeat to Portsmouth on Wednesday night.
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder wants to see some up-and-coming referees officiating in the Championship after experienced whistle-blower Oliver Langford controversially sent off Hamza Choudhury during Wednesday night’s 3-2 defeat to Portsmouth.
After United had fallen behind to Zak Swanson’s outstanding opener in the 41st minute, Langford dismissed Choudhury for a second yellow card just three minutes later.
The United utility man had been correctly cautioned for bringing down Pompey dangerman Ryan Kavuma-McQueen in the 35th minute. However, their second coming together occurred when the Chelsea loanee knocked the ball past Choudhury and then ran into him, leaving the former Leicester City man perplexed by Langford’s decision to send him off.
Wilder was understandably furious with the decision, questioning where Choudhury was supposed to position himself as Kavuma-McQueen ran into him. Langford had previously sent off former United loanee Djibril Soumaré and Japhet Tanganga when he officiated the Blades’ 1-0 defeat to Charlton Athletic at The Valley in January.
Having seen a third United player sent off by Langford across the last two Blades fixtures he has officiated, Wilder was prompted to deliver a passionate post-match rant about the standard of refereeing in the Championship, calling for younger officials to be given the opportunity to officiate in the second tier.
“Japh got sent off down at Charlton last year for a reckless challenge,” Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield. “I don't know. I just think, where are the young referees, the up-and-coming referees who should be refereeing in the Championship now, instead of the ones who, in my opinion, just survive to keep surviving?
“So, no doubt, we'll have another ‘survivor’ referee on Saturday. Where's the quality? Where are the ones coming through? I like Simon Hooper (fourth official vs Portsmouth), by the way. I've known him since the Oxford days.
“He's gone through [the divisions]. He went into the Football League, through League Two, through League One, into the Championship and into the Premier League. Where are the referees coming through now? Because there's a surviving group of referees, in my opinion, that are just doing that.
“I just don't know where Hamza [is meant to go]. Then the chat was that he wasn't going to send him off. I understand opposition players using gamesmanship; it's part of the game. I've got to say, it looked as though he wasn't going to send him off at first, but then he did.”
Having seen Tanganga and Soumaré sent off by Langford earlier this year, Wilder admitted that he feared the worst ahead of the clash with Pompey.
The Blades boss continued: “I don’t think I should be criticised, sanctioned or fined because they like that; they like to take the dough off you for my honest comments about the referee.
“I’ve got to say, when I found out it was a so-called referee, you do fear the worst. Like I said, where does Hamza go? Where’s he meant to go? The boy has just played it round him and basically run straight into him.
“I think, personally, football people get that. People who haven’t played the game maybe don’t get that, and I thought that was the case.”