Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder slams 'ridiculous' QPR refereeing days after Leeds United speech

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder did not hesitate in criticising referee Thomas Kirk’s performance at Loftus Road, despite his Blades side running out 2-1 winners in a close-fought affair in west London.

Ben Brereton Diaz and Tyrese Campbell were on the scoresheet for the Blades with QPR striker Michael Frey pulling one back from a penalty kick to set up a nervy final 15 minutes. Wilder was visibly pumped after full time when celebrating with fans, but still found reason to find fault with Kirk.

Speaking at his post match press conference, Wilder said: “I’ve got to say, I thought the referee crumbled under the pressure. It’s not my fault or our players’ fault that he made some poor decisions, which he did for both teams. Some really poor decisions. Which he did for both teams. Some really poor decisions.

Chris Wilder criticises ‘ridiculous’ refereeing decisions

“I’ve got to say, I think he felt the heat of the noise. I would be in with my left-back on Monday morning talking about him not turning his back and facing on and defending it properly. He’s turned his back, I don’t know what he expects him to do but he’s smashed it at him. I might be wrong but I’m just seeing all sorts of decisions going on. That gives them a massive boost and puts them on the back foot.

“I thought some of the decisions were ridiculous. Hamza gets booked on his first challenge and then his other challenge is going off on both players, both sets of players that are not booked. I don’t know. It just felt it was a little bit too much.”

QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes was also asked for his opinion on the referee’s performance, in particular the decision not to show Hamza Choudhury a second yellow card. He said: “I have nothing to say about the ref performance. Nothing to say.”

When told about Wilder’s comments moments prior, Cifuentes remained tight lipped and doubled down on his stance. He added: “Okay. I have nothing to say. I’m not here to talk about the referee.”

Sheffield United comments follow on from Leeds United defeat

The controversy comes just days after Wilder spoke out about consistency in Championship refereeing following a 3-1 defeat to Leeds United on Monday night. David Webb was praised for his performance in that match and decisions, including no second booking for Gus Hamer and Ao Tanaka for jumping into the crowd after scoring a late goal.

Sheffield’s former FIFA referee Keith Hackett was amongst those to compliment Webb on an ‘excellent performance’ in the middle, with his fitness, ‘decision making and sensible management’ impressing. Wilder told The Star: “I think there’s a balancing act but I’d rather have it that way [against Leeds] in a competitive game.

“I’d rather have that sort of approach. I think it’s pretty difficult for players as there’s that sort of approach from David Webb, which is pragmatic and understands the game and magnitude of the game in a local derby.

“Every game should be managed in the same way. It shouldn’t change because it’s us versus Leeds United and ‘I’ll tell you what, we’ll let a little bit more go than what we usually do.’ We’d just like a level of consistency from every referee, and you just don’t get that. It’s just a bit ridiculous.”

In other news, Piers Morgan has led criticism of a Millwall star following a ‘shameful’ challenge on a Crystal Palace striker.