Ralph Hasenhuttl admitted it was “hard to take” the decision which swung this afternoon’s Premier League clash in Wolves favour. Saints led 1-0 at half-time at St Mary’s through a Danny Ings strike before the visitors levelled from the spot when Ryan Bertrand was penalised for handling a fierce Nelson Semedo shot in the box. Quizzed on the controversial penalty call against Bertrand,
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “I think everybody has seen it and there is only one opinion you can have about this situation. For me both penalties are not penalties, but when you give the first one, you have to give the second one. When I see us being in the game until that moment, controlling everything and being one up, then it’s hard to understand. Mr Atkinson was the VAR today and I don’t know what he has seen in this situation, but I think it’s hard to understand what happens in the last weeks against us but we have to accept it.”
Asked how much that decision changed the game,
Ralph Hasenhuttl added: “To be honest, I have a completely other view on decision-making in the box. I will always speak about why don’t we give a free-kick in such a moment? This is not a clear goal chance. Then it would be a decision between a penalty and not giving a penalty that doesn’t make it so harsh and so decisive for the game. I think always such decisions are so decisive for every club. Again it was against us. I remember seeing it against Aston Villa a few weeks ago where it was a clearer handball in the box but we didn’t get a penalty. So it’s hard to take at the moment, but we have to and in the end we lose this game and this is what you speak about tomorrow, not how it worked or how we played 60 minutes 1-0 up and controlled everything and then such a situation can definitely turn the table around. This is football and it’s hard to take at the moment.”
