Inter Miami provides images to support Neville’s claim that team was cheated of goal
A day after Inter Miami coach Phil Neville slammed the MLS video review system, saying his team was “cheated” out of a goal in a 1-0 road loss against the New York Red Bulls, the club provided a pair of photos to support his claim.
Gonzalo Higuain appeared to score the equalizing goal in the 61st minute, but it was disallowed for offside. After discussions between on-field and off-field officials, referee Tori Penso announced that the call stood.
The TV broadcast of the play did not show near-side center back Tom Edwards as clearly as the photos provided from the team’s overhead camera, which would indicate that Edwards kept Higuian on side as Lewis Morgan launched the pass. The TV announcers did not question the call.
Higuain waved his arms around wildly and complained after the call. He personified the team’s frustration, as the team has lost five games in a row, the past three by a 1-0 score, dimming its playoff chances.
The two previous losses also involved late-game controversial calls. Atlanta United was awarded a penalty kick in the 78th minute when Leandro Gonzalez Pirez was called for a hand ball in the box. In Portland, Julian Carranza appeared to score the game-tying goal in the 85th minute, but it was nullified for a foul.
In both cases, Neville said Saturday, Inter Miami received emails in the days after the games saying the calls should have gone the other way.
After the New York loss, a fuming Neville called for a “massive investigation’’ into calls against his team.
“I’m just going to go full barrel,” is how Neville started his postgame remarks. “We were told this week that the Atlanta penalty should not have happened, so we were cheated in Atlanta. We then got told we should have had two penalties plus the goal in Portland, so we got cheated in Portland. And we’ve been cheated [Saturday night].
“I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but something is fundamentally wrong with the way referees are treating Inter Miami. We’re playing in one of the best leagues in the world, and I’m having one of the greatest experiences of my career, but I’ve got a dressing room that’s asking real, real questions about the integrity of this league in terms of the decisions we keep getting.”
He said he was especially upset because Inter Miami has been the target of much criticism after it was sanctioned for breaking roster rules last season before Neville arrived.
“We’ve had our integrity questioned this year. We got stones thrown at us and had to take a lot of absolute [expletive] from a lot of people and when you do wrong you accept it. I hope I don’t come across as a bad loser. Congratulations to New York Red Bulls. But I’m sick and tired of receiving emails on Mondays. That’s too late. I cannot accept this.”
He clarified by saying he had no issue with Penso’s performance as a referee.
“I thought the referee had a really good game, an outstanding female official has been let down incredibly by the VAR system,” he said.
This story was originally published October 10, 2021 at 3:59 PM.