Ladies and Gentlemen, take a moment to observe Mauricio Pellegrino, a manager on thin ice, trying to handle a 10-game winless run, dealt an extremely harsh hand when a precious away victory was snatched away as Abdoulaye Doucouré deftly batted in a late equaliser. In these days of VAR trials, here was a perfect example of the kind of decision that would have been referred, the tap of the hand easily spotted, the goal removed, the points for Southampton retained.It would have been understandable had Pellegrino exploded, railed against the officials, damned the system and spoken of injustice. But he didn´t. He even managed to spare some sympathy for the referee, Roger East, who evidently missed the nature of the game´s decisive and defining touch. `Even the referee has pressure too,` Pellegrino reasoned. `For everybody at this level the pressure is to do your best every single day. I imagine the referee is not happy right now.` It was a remarkably dignified response under the circumstances. Continue reading...
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