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Alexis Sanchez: West Brom boss Tony Pulis accuses Arsenal forward of cheating

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments398

West Brom should have had penalty - Pulis

West Brom head coach Tony Pulis has accused Alexis Sanchez of "cheating" during Arsenal's 2-0 win over the Baggies in the Premier League.

Referee Bobby Madley also failed to give the Baggies what Pulis felt was a certain penalty for a foul on Jay Rodriguez when the game was goalless.

"In the game's first free-kick Sanchez dives and should be booked. That's cheating," Pulis told Sky Sports.

"Then the tackle in the box on Jay, it is a stonewall penalty."

Sanchez went down under a challenge from Baggies defender Craig Dawson in the early minutes of the match and Pulis was incensed on the touchline.

Then after seven minutes Rodriguez appeared to be fouled inside the box by Gunners defender Shkodran Mustafi, but Madley did not award a penalty.

The West Brom forward quickly got up and shot, but his effort was brilliantly pushed onto the post by Gunners keeper Petr Cech.

Mustafi tackle on Rodriguez
Mustafi seemed to clearly catch Rodriguez but referee Bobby Madley chose not to give a penalty

Summarising on BBC Radio 5 live, former Arsenal defender Martin Keown said: "That should have been a penalty. It was a massive let off for Arsenal. Rodriguez was too honest."

Speaking to the BBC afterwards, Pulis added: "We tell our players not to roll about, he still wanted to score but once he has missed, the referee should pull it back.

"It could be a penalty and they could have a player sent off so we not only score but are against a team down to 10 players."

Alexandre Lacazette scored twice as Arsenal moved up to seventh in the table, with the Gunners producing a dominant second-half performance.

Wenger admitted West Brom had a strong case for a penalty before Lacazette struck the opener.

"They pushed us very hard, especially in the first half," said the Frenchman. "They disturbed our build up and played a very dangerous and direct game. In the second half I felt we controlled the game and did not give anything away.

"Would it [the West Brom penalty call] have been given I would not have said it is a scandal."

Best still to come from Lacazette - Wenger

Not awarding a penalty to West Brom was one of a number of questionable decisions made in the first-half by Madley, who was at one point during the game the top trend on Twitter in the United Kingdom.

Arsenal, who were awarded a penalty in the second half when Allan Nyom clumsily fouled Aaron Ramsey, also had a case for a spot kick being awarded in the first half when Sanchez appeared to have his shirt tugged by Baggies defender Grzegorz Krychowiak.

After the game, Rodriguez was adamant there had been contact in the box for West Brom's penalty appeal.

"I went down and expected the foul to be given but it wasn't so I got back up," he said. "I wasn't injured or hurt. For me it was a penalty, sometimes you get them sometimes you don't.

"I wouldn't be rolling around trying to get free-kicks. It is one of those things but it is just difficult because if you do get that goal, 1-0 up changes the game."

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398 comments

  • Comment posted by BushTucker, at 00:41 26 Sep 2017

    That's sport - sometimes you get'em, sometimes you don't.

    Play to the whistle, respect your opponents (and the officials) and enjoy it!

    The integrity demonstrated by Rodriquez is to be commended and should be espoused across the back pages rather than '2018 big money wheeler dealer moves' and 'latest football celebrity gimmick'.

  • Comment posted by micp, at 07:45 26 Sep 2017

    If it was Sanchez that went down for the penalty he'd still be there now.

  • Comment posted by Britincal, at 07:22 26 Sep 2017

    This HYS must be crawling with Arsenal fans judging by the down arrows for anyone criticizing Madley and his decisions. It's a fact that referees almost always give the big decisions in favour of the big clubs. Stonewall WBA penalty ignored, Sanchez dive ignored. It's a joke and so are some referees, video technology can't come quickly enough to address the very poor decisions that ruin games.

  • Comment posted by Chia15, at 00:18 26 Sep 2017

    Cheating? Yes. Infact the whole game is gone dirty with the amount of money and players moving from one club to another

  • Comment posted by Vernolien, at 07:57 26 Sep 2017

    Mustafi's tackle was a foul but Rodriguez got up instantly, without losing momentum, hitting a fierce shot on target that Cech brilliantly saved. Football is not like Rugby Union; once advantage is played, you can't bring play back if it turns out to be wasted. That's the rules. If he had blown for a penalty which was then missed we'd be slating the ref for not playing advantage.

  • Comment posted by disgustedofwells, at 00:50 26 Sep 2017

    Baggies robbed we all saw it, and the Sanchez dive. No comeback though for dodgy refs is there?

  • Comment posted by pml666, at 08:03 26 Sep 2017

    Stone wall penalty to West Brom and Arsenal should have had one for the shirt pull on Sanchez , Dawson should have had a red card too for a 2nd bookable offence ; Arsenal's penalty was a soft one considering the Ref didn't blow for a first half shoulder barge on a WB player.
    And I am a Gooner !

  • Comment posted by OllieMattTurner, at 09:28 26 Sep 2017

    Madley was poor all game.

    Stonewall penalty for Rodriguez, not given. One clear tug on Sanchez in the box, not given. A clumsy tackle by Nyom in the box, not given. Sliding tackle from behind on a yellow card - foul given, but no second yellow for Dawson.

    1-0 to WBA could have changed the game entirely, but Madley was bad both ways throughout the match.

  • Comment posted by D1679110813156, at 13:32 26 Sep 2017

    Ironic given that both the High Court and a Premier League Managers Aribitration Tribunal ruled that Pulis tried to cheat Crystal Palace out of £3.7 million, which he was forced to repay. His behaviour was described as 'disgraceful' and 'deliberately misleading.' Pot, meet kettle:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-38136496

  • Comment posted by Yeahbaby, at 09:04 26 Sep 2017

    let's all be honest here and just say that Pulis is absolutely correct.
    We all know that 90% of players cheat regularly to gain advantages and nobody is ever going to do anything about it.

  • Comment posted by J , at 00:44 26 Sep 2017

    Mustafi on Rodriguez was an unquestionable penalty. Replay needs to be implemented on issues inside the box. Arsenal got a lucky 3 points because WBrom are tough to break down & Arsenal lose the wind in their sails when they fall behind. On that (no-call penalty) the rest of the match hinged.
    ~VII

  • Comment posted by ovalball, at 12:39 26 Sep 2017

    I was at Leicester V Liverpool on Saturday Liverpool were driving and cheating from the moment the ref blow the first whistle

    Henderson hounded the ref around the pitch from the start demanding free kicks after any and every tackle

    It was clear and obvious it was a tactic of Liverpools to try and con the ref

    and I think they succeeded

  • Comment posted by Matt83, at 13:06 26 Sep 2017

    Every team has bad decisions through out a season, no matter what league you play in. I just wish Tony Pulis would stop moaning every time I see his sorry face on TV his always complaining about something does my head in.

  • Comment posted by User0126244157, at 09:17 26 Sep 2017

    Why are the FA so against video evidence during the game?

    It has worked so well in other competitions. Those dinosaurs should get into the 21st century!

  • Comment posted by D1710825671531, at 12:30 26 Sep 2017

    You're always going to struggle to eradicate diving and feigning injury from the game, when 3 of the sports biggest names in Neymar, Ronaldo and Saurez, are probably the 3 biggest cheats

  • Comment posted by Ooozzzelll, at 13:07 26 Sep 2017

    I think its great that Tony Pullis has started his "clean up football" campaign. I sense The main beneficiaries might just be Arsenal.

    Oh wait, hang on, it might impact Tony's team more than most, better pipe down now Tony.

  • Comment posted by Simonb, at 09:40 26 Sep 2017

    Why do they report this stuff? So what if Tony Pulls is annoyed?

  • Comment posted by gcny, at 01:30 26 Sep 2017

    What should have been a clear penalty was deemed "advantage", and should have been "questionable" was deemed a clear penalty. Bobby Madley is clearly a very poor specimen of EPL referee. His decision in the first half totally ruined a close game.

  • Comment posted by Football_understand, at 13:05 26 Sep 2017

    @268 Explain how?
    The never had an attempt on goal in the 2nd half, barely got out their half

    A game is 90 minutes not 20 minutes

    Having a couple of decent chances doesnt justify deserving a result

    Arsenal ran the show completely in the 2nd and missed a hatful

    Teams like WBA have no need to be so negative, they choose to be.

  • Comment posted by Perivale Elvis, at 13:56 26 Sep 2017

    All managers as bad as each other when it comes to moaning about why they lost (except Morinho who is much worse than anybody).

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