Wolves boss Gary O’Neil admitted he may face further disciplinary action after confronting referee Tony Harrington following his side’s 2-1 Premier League defeat to West Ham at Molineux.
Wolves were angered when Maximilian Kilman’s goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time was disallowed, something O’Neil described as “possibly the worst decision I’ve ever seen”.
VAR Darren England advised Harrington to check the monitor as Wolves substitute Tawanda Chirewa was stood in front of Lukasz Fabianski in an offside position and deemed to be impeding the West Ham goalkeeper.
Wolves’ protests led to a flurry of yellow cards for those on O’Neil’s bench, and the manager said he walked towards the tunnel because he was aware he is one yellow card away from a touchline ban.
But O’Neil’s attempts to speak to Harrington after the game may yet lead to further problems.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t able to control my emotions and my feelings,” O’Neil said. “I was in with the referee and it didn’t go too well so I haven’t had an explanation.
“But the explanation is irrelevant anyway because everyone I’ve spoken to, David Moyes, Fabianski, they all can’t believe it’s been given for offside. It’s a terrible decision.”
O’Neil said Harrington shut down their conversation “probably because of the way I asked”, adding that he was “in a fairly bad mood” when he went to the referee’s room.
“I don’t know if it will be reported,” O’Neil added. “If I get told off, so be it. I’ve been told off many times before. I will apologise if I’ve stepped over the line but I can only react on how I feel at that moment.”
West Ham came from behind to win with James Ward-Prowse scoring directly from a corner after Lucas Paqueta’s penalty cancelled out a first-half spot-kick from Pablo Sarabia.
Moyes expressed sympathy for O’Neil but said any player stood where Chirewa had was at risk of being penalised for offside.
Asked if his side had got away with a decision, the Scot said: “I think I’m probably the last man at the moment to say you’re getting away with one. We’ve had so many poor decisions it is unbelievable in recent weeks.
“When I’ve looked at it again, the boy’s definitely standing in front of the goalkeeper…and if that player is not going to try to get back onside then there’s a chance you’ll be called offside.
“But I have to say I felt for Gary because the way I’ve felt the last 2-3 weeks with the decisions we’ve had, I’ve been sitting in a dark room for a week.”
Wolves have disputed several refereeing decisions throughout the season, and O’Neil said his players felt they had been disrespected.
“The players are unbelievably frustrated with the decision-making and officiating,” he said.
“They had a discussion as a group, they don’t feel like they’re being respected by the officials and I’ve talked them down a couple of times from figuring out what they want to do about that.
“I can’t expect them not to this time, I understand how they feel about it, and whatever they decide to do about it is up to them.”
Wolves had deservedly led at the break, but West Ham improved massively after the half-time introduction of Michail Antonio and Ben Johnson.
“I think the two teams changed shirts at half-time,” Moyes said.
But the win may have come at a cost with Jarrod Bowen limping off as Thursday’s Europa League match away to Bayer Leverkusen looms.
“He’s had a knee into his hip, or into his back,” Moyes said. “It’s not a twist but he’s really stiff. I’ve had one or two of those myself and they don’t go away too quickly so we need to hope it doesn’t linger with him.”
Arteta delighted after Arsenal 'go over hurdles' to win North London derby
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was beaming with the work rate put in by his side following their 1-0 victory away to rivals Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday.
Defender Gabriel Magalhaes scored the decisive goal, heading home from a corner in the second half, to leave the Gunners second in the Premier League table.
Spurs enjoyed the better start of the two, creating plenty of openings in the early part of the first half, but were unable to take advantage.
Arsenal had fewer shots than Spurs (seven to 15) but were more clinical than their hosts.
"They are a great side and create an unbelievable atmosphere," said Arteta of their opponents while talking to Sky Sports.
"We knew it would be tough. We believed we could hurt them, we weren't the best with the ball today.
"The way we defended was top drawer. We want to play a different game, but they put a structure that is extremely difficult to match up, so we decided not to do that."
Three of Arsenal's last four Premier League goals against Spurs have come from corners, compared to just three in their previous 88 such matches beforehand.
"We just work on heading the ball, having the right delivery and winning the ball," Arteta added.
"It is about the right timing. Over the season, the team has to go over hurdles, so I am delighted."
Arsenal's players echoed their manager's happiness, with stand-in captain Jorginho highlighting how the team spirit helped them over the line.
"We had to work really hard, as you saw, we knew it was going to be a difficult game," he told Sky Sports.
"On these days you have to work, and we know we can count on each other as teammates.
"At the end, it paid off, and we are so happy that we won. We had key players missing, but we are a total team, the whole squad. We know that whoever comes on will be ready to help the team. We are really proud of the team."
Arsenal's victory over their rivals was the first time since 1988 that they have won three in a row at Tottenham, and that significance was not lost on the players.
"We did it three times in a row now, and you felt the excitement in the dressing room after the game," Jurrien Timber said to BBC Match of the Day.
"You know how bad the fans want to win this game, but it's the same for every game. You prepare for every game the same way, but it felt really nice winning this one.
"I am really, really enjoying it even with all these games coming up. The feeling of being fit is an amazing feeling.
"It's a true honour. We showed up today and credit to everyone who came in."
Portsmouth 0-3 West Brom: Baggies go top by routing Pompey
West Brom went top of the early-season Championship table with a comfortable 3-0 win at Portsmouth on Sunday, with Alex Mowatt scoring twice.
Mowatt struck twice in the second half after Josh Maja had given Carlos Corberan's men an early lead at Fratton Park, as Portsmouth's wait for a first win of the season continued.
Maja needed just 54 seconds to put Albion ahead, slamming home for his fifth goal of the season after Tom Fellows got to the byline to cut it back.
The visitors started the second half almost as quickly as they began the first, doubling their lead on 51 minutes as Mowatt curled home left-footed following fine combination play from John Swift and Karlan Grant.
If Mowatt's first goal was good, his second was outstanding as he capped the result in stoppage time, whipping a free-kick into the top-right corner to give Norris no chance.
West Brom's fourth win of the season sees them move one point clear of Sunderland at the summit, while Portsmouth slip to 23rd, only taking three points since their promotion from League One.
Data Debrief: Maja out on his own
Maja's fifth goal of the season took him one clear at the top of the Championship's scoring charts, ahead of Blackburn Rovers' Yulo Ohashi, Oxford United's Mark Harris and Millwall's Duncan Watmore (all four).
Maja was certainly busy on Sunday, attempting more shots (six) and accumulating more expected goals (1.03 xG) than anyone else on the pitch, while also laying on one chance.
Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal: Gabriel snatches derby-day win
Gabriel Magalhaes scored the decisive goal as Arsenal got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Tottenham on Sunday.
The defender netted the only goal of the contest after 64 minutes, punishing Spurs for a lapse in concentration from a corner as he drifted away from Cristian Romero to thump in Bukayo Saka's pinpoint cross.
The hosts had the better chances in the first half, through Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke, but were thwarted by David Raya's saves and some disappointing misses.
Despite Spurs' search for a late equaliser, Arsenal were able to hold out for the win and maintain their unbeaten start to the Premier League season.
Mikel Arteta's side are up to second in the table on 10 points, while Spurs are 13th after suffering their second defeat of the campaign.
Data Debrief: Set-piece specialists
Arsenal have a knack for scoring from set-pieces, and they proved their prowess once more thanks to Gabriel's towering finish.
It is the 23rd goal Arsenal have scored from set-pieces (excluding penalties) since the start of last season, more than any other side, while three of their last four Premier League goals against Spurs have come from corners.
The Gunners secured a sixth consecutive away league win, their best streak since a run of eight between March and September 2013 under Arsene Wenger. They have also now won three consecutive away North London derbies for the first time since September 1988.
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