Sheffield Wednesday get penalty apology after officiating error

The Owls have conceded four penalties already this season, and Bambo Diaby’s foul on Mason Burstow against Sunderland meant that no team in the Championship has given away more over the course of 2023/24 so far. Four in nine games has hardly helped their tough start to the campaign.

It would appear that one of them shouldn’t have been given, though, according to the Owls boss, who explained over the weekend that Pol Valentin shouldn’t have been penalised for a foul on Josh Ginnelly in South Wales that got things underway in what would eventually be a 3-0 defeat.

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have been in the news plenty recently given their apologies over various incidents, including one for Liverpool in the last few days over a ‘significant human error’ that led to Luis Diaz’s goal against Tottenham Hotspur being ruled out for offside.

It’s not much consolation for Xisco, his players or Wednesdayites given what happened after the foul was given against Valentin, but the Owls boss seemed pleased about it nonetheless.

Speaking to the media over the weekend he said, "The last week has been good because the FA called us to say they were so sorry because it wasn’t a penalty against Swansea. They were sorry about this situation."

The Owls are back in action on Tuesday night when they make the trip to West Bromwich Albion still in search of their first win of the season.