Derby County manager Wayne Rooney bemoans decisions in 1-1 draw with Coventry

Wayne Rooney says his Derby side should have had three penalties against Coventry City as they played out a 1-1 draw. 

Derby’s equaliser came from the spot as the Rams fought back from a goal down to rescue a point against playoff chasing Coventry.

But despite being given the penalty, Rooney wasn’t satisfied with the referee’s overall performance, suggesting his side should have been given another two.

Malcolm Ebiowei was brought down in the box under pressure from Ben Sheaf with the referee waving play on, before Lee Buchanan appeared to be victim of a miss kick from Fankaty Dabo in the second half.

Replays showed that in both incidents, the referee was right to not give them, but that didn’t stop Rooney venting his frustration, as he told Derbyshire Live: “I think the referee had to give us one out of the three we should have had. I told the referee after the game that’s not good enough.”

“The one on Lee Buchanan is a clear penalty. The referee might walk in off the pitch and think ‘I’ve done a good job’, I’ve given a penalty’, which was a penalty, but actually there are two clear penalties which he’s missed. It’s frustrating.”

The draw means Derby are now eight points adrift from safety following Reading’s 1-0 win over Blackburn.

The Verdict

On this occasion, Rooney is probably wrong. The Lawrence penalty was the only one that warranted a decision from the referee. However, it’s understandable that he’s frustrated.

Derby for example had a very obvious penalty shout waved away at Bournemouth last week and have been on the receiving end of some questionable decisions, as have most teams in the division.

Derby deserved at least point from this game, but anything more than one penalty in this game would have been harsh.

S