BRIGHTON, England (Reuters) – The standard of referees in the Premier League is ‘very bad’ according to Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto de Zerbi who was shown a red card after his side’s defeat on Saturday.
The Italian’s frustration boiled over at the final whistle following a 1-0 defeat by Fulham and he confronted referee Darren England in the tunnel.
Brighton, who dominated the match, had two goals disallowed for offside as they dropped below Fulham to seventh.
De Zerbi met Professional Game Match Officials Limited chief Howard Webb in midweek for a face-to-face meeting after his side had a goal wrongly ruled out by VAR last weekend.
Explaining his altercation with England, he said he would not bother meeting Webb again.
“Because I told the referee that this week we had a meeting with his boss (Howard Webb) and I lost time and lost time in my work and my job because I think the level of refereeing in the Premier League is very bad,” De Zerbi told reporters on Saturday.
“To progress we have to be with a different attitude. The referee today wasn’t in good attitude. But it’s not a problem, I didn’t say any bad words but I told him my opinion.
“It was the last time I will have a meeting.”
The defeat was Brighton’s first in six league games and dealt a blow to their hopes of qualifying for Europe.
“I’m not angry because we played a fantastic game. This is our way, we have to follow it,” he said.
“I’m not frustrated but it’s my opinion about the referee. When I speak about referees I speak about in terms of attitude. He was not very clear in his attitude.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon)
