Watford 0-1 Norwich City: Cleverley Championship reaction.

In a 1-0 Championship defeat for his 10-man Watford, Tom Cleverley accused Norwich City players of using ‘black arts’.

Josh Sargent’s first-half strike sealed the win at Vicarage Road in a tense game in which Vakoun Bayo was sent off for yelling at Emi Marcondes. The Hornets were confident that they should have received a penalty in the first half when Angus Gunn dived at Giorgi Chakvetadze’s feet, but referee Lewis gave the goal kick. Cleverley didn’t hold back in his post-match press conference, saying Gunn feigned injury when he stayed down following his clash with the Watford attacker. The under-pressure Watford manager also believed that they will successfully overturn Bayo’s red card on appeal, citing Marcondes’ ‘antics’ with his City teammates.

“Unfortunately, the referee has already been played. “I thought Norwich were good at the dark arts today,” he stated. “Every time someone made touch with one of their players, they hurled themselves to the ground, and we just did not have an experienced enough referee to recognise it. “So I’m disappointed from that standpoint.” One example is how some of their guys are hurling themselves to the ground. Second, we simply thought we didn’t have a referee who understood the game well enough. “Listen, I cannot defend Bayo’s attitude. He realises he’s let his teammates down. He shoved Marcondes with the palm of his hand against his chest, which was a disappointed reaction from Marcondes. I think if you counted the amount of times he threw himself to the floor today, you’d have a decent tally.

“The referee told me at halftime, ‘He’s elbowed him in the throat,’ and we reviewed the footage, and he palmed him in the chest.” If you’re going to make a major, important decision like that, you need to be certain. He witnessed an event that did not occur, which is disappointing for a referee. “If you look at the situation from the aspect that I have observed, it will be overturned. “Obviously, we must wait for the current period of time to pass (before engaging with officials). I’ll speak to him gently and respectfully, and I’ll probably offer him some ideas on how to improve. “Before officiating a game, you need to know your players. Marcondes is a kind of player who will do those sort of things, and it’s disappointing, but I’m living and learning in my (coaching) career and I’m sure he will do the same.

“They are a team that excels at this; if they make contact, they fall to the ground. I’m not saying it’s wrong. They’ve had terrific success with it today. So I am not saying that’s wrong. But referees must come to realise this. And it’s terribly unfortunate that he got sold today. “(How about the Gunn penalty incident?)That’s a 50/50 split in my opinion, and you know how honest I am. I am furious about the red card, but the penalty is 50:50 for me. He came out at a high speed. It’s very near. “Who initiates the first contact?” I think Gunn’s reply, appearing to be hurt, tells you everything you need to know.

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