Ipswich Boss Kieran McKenna Slams Penalty Decision
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has slammed the decision to award the Imps a penalty in the second half after Adam Jackson’s dismissal in the first half.
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has slammed the decision to award the Imps a penalty in the second half after Adam Jackson’s dismissal in the first half when speaking to the local press.
Ipswich failed to take advantage of the Imps having ten men despite constant pressure throughout the first fifteen minutes of the second half, which was a surprise considering Ipswich are third in the division and have scored forty-seven goals this season, with only Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle scoring more.
Kieran McKenna has clearly got Ipswich firing on all cylinders this season but he was furious with the referee’s decision to award City a penalty.
“I thought the penalty against us was a ridiculous decision really, that was completely out of context with everything I’ve seen in my year in League One. But the other hand, not out of context with what I’ve seen from what we’ve been given in the last 12 months.”
McKenna spoke on Ipswich’s poor penalty record and says he struggles to understand how his team do not earn more penalties.
“I’m still trying to figure it out. I don’t think it’s that, it’s not a bias against Ipswich Town per see. I think the penalty record is really, really bizarre. I think we’ve had penalty instances 10 times worse than that several times over at Portman Road and they’ve not been given.
“We’ve had one penalty at home all season and two against us, which even from a statistical point of view from the number of appeals, balls in the box, challenges that we have, for me I find really, really difficult to understand.”
The ex-Manchester United coach, who worked alongside Ole Gunnar Solskjær went on to slam the decision and label it strange that it was given considering how many times it happens a game.
“Then that to be given because the other team were with 10 men, to give a penalty for marking that happens in every game, it happened in both boxes today on every single corner, I thought was really strange.
“I don’t fully understand the reasoning behind it but it’s something for me that is real from the evidence I’ve seen so far this season and something we need to push back against.”
McKenna claims the referee gave his reasoning for the penalty, which he struggled to understand given how many times similar incidents happen throughout a regular season.
“The referee said for marking inappropriately, but we’ve had – and I can’t remember the incidents now off the top of my head – but among the other penalty appeals, appeals for penalties where people have been taken down by the neck when they’re just about to make contact in the face of the goal.
“Greg Leigh had one in the first half where he was in the face of the goal and he was about to head it in and he got pulled back by the neck, so to give one for inappropriate marking when the ball wasn’t even in that area, I thought was so out of the context of the game.
