GARY Rowett was frustrated that referee Andy Davies did not take a stricter approach to time wasting in Millwall’s 1-0 defeat to Huddersfield Town.
The Terriers tried to slow play down after scoring in the 67th minute through Danny Ward, frustrating the Lions and their supporters as they looked to score an equaliser at The Den.
Ultimately, it never came, and the fans made their feelings known about the officiating throughout the second half and as the full-time whistle was blown.
Rowett was also frustrated, but admitted that it did not have a significant impact on the outcome of the game despite the way his side dominated their opponents.
“I spoke to the referee afterwards and the fourth official during the game,” he revealed.
“It was just an observation and I don’t criticise them for doing it – we would do the same potentially – but you’d expect the officials to deal with it. They waved them to speed up play probably about 20 times in the last 20 minutes, but if they don’t speed the play up, it’s kind of irrelevant.
“All I said was that, if you book someone early, it changes the game. They have to play within the realms of what’s reasonable, I think.
“I don’t think it really affected the game, I just said that, as an experience referee, towards the end, I’d just expect him to do something about it, especially when you’re 1-0 down and the crowd is getting frustrated. Everyone can see what’s happening.
“They had about 10 players go down with cramp, but they’re going to do that, they’re going to manage the game. Neil has done that for God knows how many years. He takes the points, he’s happy and walks away. No one’s bothered, are they?”.
Photo: Millwall FC