Kasper Schmeichel rips referees after Man City's vital win vs. Leicester
Kasper Schmeichel was not a happy man following Leicester City's controversial loss to Manchester City on Saturday. The Foxes' goalkeeper questioned referee Bobby Madley and his officiating crew's decision-making and consistency following the 2-1 loss at the Etihad.
City's first goal in the 29th minute came after Leroy Sane's cutback pass into the box found David Silva, who slotted it to Schmeichel's far post. Teammate Raheem Sterling, who was offside, swung a leg at it but didn't touch it and the goal was allowed to stand. That's where Schmeichel first took issue with the officiating after the match, via SkySports.
"The first goal is offside. Anybody who has played football, especially in goal, will know it's offside. If he's in the six-yard box and the ball is going by him, past my line of sight, that means he's interfering. It doesn't even matter if he goes for it, he's interfering because I can't see the ball.
"Fuchs can't get to the ball because he's stood in the way of him and prevents him from swinging his foot at the ball. Then he swings his foot at the ball, so he's made an attempt. So three times he's offside. It's one of these very frustrating decisions because we'd done well up until then and we kind of lost our composure for five or 10 minutes and they got the second one."
The Foxes also had a late penalty disallowed, as Riyad Mahrez slipped during the attempt and sent a shot that deflected off his plant foot into the Manchester City net. Madley saw the double-touch and rightly disallowed the goal, but Schmeichel bemoaned the lack of consistency among referees. The Danish keeper cited Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann's penalty against Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals, where a double touch also took place but wasn't noticed.
"Griezmann did it in the semi-final and it stood, so you talk about consistency," he told SkySports. That penalty would have equalized the match in the 77th minute, but Madley waved it off.
The result doesn't mean much for Leicester on the whole, but it's a massive result for Man City and the other Premier League teams in the hunt for a top-four spot. A full three points put the Citizens in third place with 72 points, two above Liverpool in the fourth and final Champions League qualification spot. It increased the distance between City and Arsenal, too, who entered the day on 66 points prior to their match against Stoke.
Schmeichel's comments will likely fall on deaf ears, as referees and officials rarely comment after matches, but he can rest assured that plenty of people are on his side — Man City's rivals chief among them.
