Charlton Boss Jones Slams Assistant Referee: He Looked at Me Like I Had Just Kicked His Cat

Charlton manager Nathan Jones accused an assistant referee of looking at him “like I had just kicked his cat,” marking the second time in a few days that he has strongly criticized refereeing.

A disallowed goal

On Wednesday, Charlton hosted Queens Park Rangers at The Valley in a London derby in the Championship. In the first half, Tyreece Campbell scored, but assistant referee Bhupinder Gill raised his flag to indicate that the Jamaican forward was offside, and the goal was ruled out.

The decision ultimately became the key moment of the match, which ended in a 0-0 draw.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Jones said: “They just casually put the flag up for offside, and we had an offside decision that simply did not exist.”

“That goal came from a brilliant counterattack and was a beautiful goal. There was absolutely no offside, and once again this decision has cost us three points,” Jones said.

He directly targeted the assistant referee: “I think this linesman’s arrogance is unbelievable, because he looked at me like I had just kicked his cat. He looked at me as if I had done something wrong, and he was saying ‘no’.”

“He made the biggest mistake of the night and it cost us the game. That is the Championship, that is how cruel the Championship is.”

Second refereeing criticism in a matter of days

This was not the first time Jones had criticized referees within a few days. Last Saturday, when Charlton lost 0-4 to Stoke City, the first goal scored by their opponents came from a penalty, and Jones also publicly criticized referee Robert Madley after the match.

He said at the time: “I went in and saw him (the referee). I was extremely disappointed with my own team’s performance, but I was equally extremely disappointed with the other side’s performance. There were too many things that went against us.”

Whether Jones’ post-match outburst will anger animal lovers remains to be seen. However, the 53-year-old Welsh coach is known for his colorful language and has managed Luton, Stoke City and Southampton during his coaching career.

Speaking about his ambition at Southampton, the club that eventually took him into the Premier League, Jones once said: “I could have stayed in a mining community, been a PE teacher and had a nice life.”

Charlton’s current position

Despite their frustration with the decisions, Charlton are currently fifth in the Championship table, having collected 11 points from their opening six matches, two points behind leaders West Brom. They will host Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon.