Not a great weekend, was it? Josh Kilmister (predictably) is still reeling...
Swansea's players react incredulously to Stoke's penalty
Instead of talking about the game in its entirety, I’m instead going to talk about something that Monk has brought up time and time again in his post-match interviews; referees.
It’ll be no secret to you by now that Stoke’s equaliser that turned the game on its head was quite blatantly a poor decision from referee Michael Oliver which left Monk, as you can imagine, feeling hard done by and not for the first time this season. He spoke after the game calling Victor Moses (the man who went down to win Stoke their penalty) a cheat and claiming that the decision to award the penalty was “disgusting”, claiming that “even their bench couldn’t believe it was a penalty”.
Now from what I’ve seen, Monk’s opposite number Mark Hughes took this relatively well, claiming that it’s “unacceptable” to accuse his player of being a cheat and suggesting that he can understand Monk’s frustration.
“He’s obviously upset. We have to come in here twenty minutes after the game and speak about what’s gone on and sometimes you just have to bite your tongue. Maybe that will come with experience” Mark Hughes
Monk went on to talk about the fact that he is yet to hear back from referee’s Chief Mike Riley, describing it as “poor leadership” from the former top flight ref.
“It’s happening week after week and it’s always against us. I contacted referee’s Chief Mike Riley but haven’t heard anything and I think that’s poor leadership from him.
“This is the highest level and if they can’t perform at this level then they shouldn’t be there” [Talking about Premier League referees] Garry Monk
I’ll back Monk every step of the way. I think his passion for the club is phenomenal, but speaking your mind isn’t always the right thing to do in these situations. As Mark Hughes said, it can be difficult to keep your mouth shut when speaking straight after the game, but for me I think Monk should focus on our poor second half performance (again!) rather than the referee.
Now what I find hilarious is that the morning after Monk brings up the fact that he has yet to hear from Mike Riley, it appears that the PGMOL (Professional Games Match Officials Board) have woken up. Less than 24 hours after Monk expressed his feelings about Riley and Co, it’s been confirmed that a letter and DVD have been received and they will be contacting Monk as soon as possible. The way things have gone so far, don’t be surprised if that’s not in the near future.
Of course as fans, we can say what we like about referees and Stoke’s players without upsetting Mike Riley or Mark Hughes. Victor Moses is a cheat and I can’t remember the last time I watched a Swans game where the referee hasn’t shown a dislike to us - don’t be shocked to see Monk fined for his words in the coming weeks.
As for a feud with Mark Hughes, I think that’s one fight he should back out of...
Thanks to Josh for this, his latest piece - you can follow him on Twitter @JoshKilmister