Hart rues 'inexplicable' call

22 August 2009 18:03
Portsmouth manager Paul Hart questioned an 'inexplicable' refereeing call after his side lost 4-1 against Arsenal. Hart was left baffled when play was waved on by referee Steve Bennett after William Gallas appeared to fell John Utaka when the forward was clean through on goal. The scoreline was 2-1 at the time and the incident was shortly followed by a Gallas goal before Aaron Ramsey sealed the Premier League victory for the Gunners. Hart told Sky Sports: "The second goal I felt was offside. Then we got back into the game and I don't know how a decision such as the foul against John Utaka takes place. "It was a definite foul, in my opinion. Inexplicable. And then Gallas scores the third goal, arguably he could have been off the pitch." Hart, though, refused to dwell on the call, instead praising his players who created a number of chances during the game. He said: "I am a little bit (aggrieved), but I would like to say that I thought my lads did well against an extremely good Arsenal team. "I think they showed a great spirit, they were well organised and they created chances - so I think that is important to get across. "It is easy to feel sorry for ourselves and think the world is against us but I think we have got a lot of positives to take out of the last three games. And we have got to build on them." England international David James was forced off in the second half with an injury complaint. Of the goalkeeper's fitness, Hart said: "He took a knock on Wednesday and we are hoping it is just bruising on the knee. He will have a scan on Monday."

Source: SKY_Sports