Gary O’Neil demands answers from Howard Webb after ref controversy but is ready to apologise

Wolves were hit with another VAR sucker punch which left manager Gary O’Neil fuming at full-time as he now seeks answers from referees chief Howard Webb once again

Gary O’Neil will seek answers from PGMOL chief Howard Webb after Wolves were denied a stoppage-time equaliser – and is ready to apologise for the way he approached the referee at full-time.

The Wolves boss was left fuming after VAR intervened to deny Max Kilman a 99th-minute equaliser at Molineux. Referee Tony Harrington viewed the pitchside monitor and decided that substitute Tawanda Chirewa was offside standing near goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Several Wolves players surrounded the official once the final whistle went with O’Neil later making his feelings known. He knows that his immediate reaction could cost him, but he’s ready to hold his hands up as he seeks clarification on why Wolves were denied.

He said: “I would like to get their thoughts on it from an understanding point of view. It would be a case of ‘if you’re telling me I’m wrong, why am I wrong?’ The bigger thing for me is it (officiating) needs to get better.”

O’Neil also added: “I don’t know if he (Webb) will want to speak to me. I don’t know if I’ve upset the officials that much, and even if he does speak to me, what am I going to get from it, really? If he (Harrington) reports it and I get told off, so be it – I’ve been told off many times before. I will apologise if I’ve stepped over the line but I can only react on how I feel at that moment.”

Wolves, in the eyes of many, have been the hardest hit by controversial VAR decisions this term. It began on the opening weekend when they were denied a late penalty at Manchester United – with O’Neil being issued with an apology in the immediate aftermath of the loss.

O’Neil admitted: “I just know how they feel about it and it’s very hard for me to stand in front of them with any real integrity and tell them they’re wrong.

“I’ve talked them down a couple of times from figuring out what they want to do about that, but I can’t expect them not to this time. We’ll see how they feel about it this week.”

Straight after the loss at Molineux the Wolves boss said it was “possibly the worst decision I have ever seen” and that the officials’ knowledge of the game “is really poor” if they felt that Chirewa was offside.

Wolves had taken the lead through Pablo Sarabia but two goals in the final 17 minutes turned the game. Lucas Paqueta equalised before James Ward-Prowse netted the winner, which hampers Wolves’ hopes of a late charge towards the European places.