Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert blasts assistant referees in defeat by Man City

17 November 2012 18:52
Paul Lambert was left furious with the performance of the match officials in the thrashing at Manchester City which dumped Aston Villa into the Premier League relegation zone. The Scot saw his side lose 5-0 at Etihad Stadium but he was less than impressed with referee Jon Moss and particularly his assistants in awarding City two penalties. Sergio Aguero scored from the spot after Andreas Weimann was adjudged to have handled the ball and Carlos Tevez also converted after Barry Bannan was penalised for handball after slipping. "I saw it and that is not a penalty," Lambert told Sky Sports of the Weimann foul. "It never touched his hand. That ball has not deviated in any flight whatsoever. "How he (the referee's assistant) called that, I do not know. You have to be 100 per cent sure on big points. If he is going to be 100 per cent sure on that, what eyesight he has got." David Silva had scored City's first goal before Tevez and Aguero both netted doubles, including their penalties, as the defending champions maintained their unbeaten run. But Lambert was still angry about the spot-kicks and he said of the decision to penalise Bannan: "I can understand why he gave it, because Barry has blocked it with his hand. "But Barry had his hand on the ground. It is natural human nature to put your hand on the ground when you are sliding. "But the way the linesman was performing, I had not a clue what he was going to flag."

Source: team_talk