Supporters of Crystal Palace have taken to Twitter this afternoon to express their derision with the decision of referee Chris Kavanagh to book Wilfried Zaha for diving, during their side’s clash with Watford.
Matchup
The two sides went head to head at Vicarage Road, with hosts Watford (12th) having headed into proceedings 3 points clear of 16th-placed Palace in the Premier League table.
The Hornets have struggled of late, having picked up just 1 point from their last 5 league outings ahead of today.
Palace, meanwhile, had won 2 of their last 4 fixtures before today’s trip to Watford, including a thrilling 3-2 victory over Brighton at Selhurst Park last time out.
Teams
? | #watfordfc XI v @CPFC | Karnezis (GK); Mariappa, Cathcart, Kabasele, Holebas; Hughes, Capoue, Doucouré, Pereyra; Deeney (C), Okaka.
Subs | Gomes (GK), Britos, Femenía, Janmaat, Richarlison, Sinclair, Gray.
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) April 21, 2018
A reminder of the Palace team for today. #WATCRY pic.twitter.com/STz20YfgVP
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 21, 2018
0-0
A tense affair was played out at Vicarage Road over the last couple of hours, with both sides having showcased plenty of grit to come away with a hard-earned point.
There were also chances at both ends, with Stefano Okaka, Luka Milivojević and James Tomkins having all rattled the woodwork.
However, the key talking point of the second-half surrounded a penalty decision involving Wilfried Zaha and Adrian Mariappa, after the latter looked to have upended the former in the hosts’ box just past the hour mark.
Replays showcased the fact that there was definite contact with the ankle of Zaha from Mariappa, with the Ivorian international having had every right to go to ground.
Referee Chris Kavanagh, though, interpreted the incident very differently, awarding a free-kick to Palace and booking Zaha for simulation.
‘Agenda’
As such, Zaha, who has developed a name for going to ground too easily over the last couple of seasons, seemed to be punished based on his reputation, rather than the incident itself, with Palace’s fans having since taken to Twitter to make clear their frustrations at the treatment of their star man:
There you go, there’s the proof of the agenda referees have against zaha. JOKE
— Joseph (@floppylegs) April 21, 2018
“He’s paying the price for what he is perceived to be”, says @markpougatch on #Zaha What an infuriating comment. The agenda against Wilf needs to stop.
— Lee McBride (@LeeDMcBride) April 21, 2018
Actually ridiculous. Referee has literally made the decision on a nonsense reputation of a player that has been labelled a diver because he is better than those he supposedly dives against. Never heard a top 6 club fan call Zaha a diver… ?
— Ollie Potts (@Pottzy15) April 21, 2018
Zaha WAS impeded in the penalty area by Adrian Mariappa sliding in.
CHRIS KAVANAGH HAS MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF TODAY. WORST REFEREE I’VE SEEN AT THIS LEVEL.— Fïve Year Plan (@FYPFanzine) April 21, 2018
Zaha gets booked for diving, blatant pen. Referees evening jumping on the bandwagon of Zaha diving. Fucking useless. #cpfc
— Matt (@MattVRjones) April 21, 2018
Shambolic refereeing again. There is an agenda against Wilfred Zaha from FA officials.
— Connor McLean??????? (@HEELMcLean) April 21, 2018
Stonewall penalty. Fucking hell. Zaha not getting decisions again because of the atmosphere, teach your referees better @FA
— Connor McLean??????? (@HEELMcLean) April 21, 2018
Another penalty on Zaha not given. Instead they follow the same old tired agenda of thinking he is a diver. Fucking state of the ref and their fanbase.
— ~•Declan•~ (@Decbo_CPFC) April 21, 2018
Unlike some Palace fans I’m not stupid enough to think refs have an agenda against us, but it is undeniable that they have a massive agenda on Wilf Zaha
— Tf. (@TikiTakaBissaka) April 21, 2018
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