Chairman Jeff Shi has commended head coach Gary O’Neil and his players for their achievements this season, despite a narrow defeat to West Ham United.
Wolves were denied a late point at Molineux after Maximilian Kilman’s stoppage time equaliser was ruled out for offside when Tawanda Chirewa was controversially judged to have obstructed Lukas Fabianski in the Hammers’ goal.
Despite the disappointment of the result and decision, Shi heaped praise on the team’s efforts across the course of the campaign. However, he urged football’s governing bodies to evaluate what could be done to improve the game for fans and players.
Shi said: “Gary, our coaching team and all the players have done a fantastic job this season that we are all rightly very proud of, especially under the circumstances, with many controversial decisions from match officials affecting the outcome of our games.
“Despite a summer of change and four days of preparation for Gary and his staff, we surpassed last season’s points with eight games to go. If it wasn’t for a number of incorrect or contentious decisions we would be even further up the table.
“For the other challenges, such as injuries to key attacking players and squad depth, the club can always keep learning and progressing every season, but for the standard and consistency of refereeing, it’s something out of our control.
“When a goal is scored and not one person inside the stadium questions the validity of that goal, including both sets of players, coaches, fans and even the match officials themselves, it’s time to question whether someone remote disallowing that goal is really what football wants or needs.
“It is our sincere hope that the Premier League and PGMOL recognise the importance of addressing these concerns to uphold the integrity of the competition and demonstrate why the Premier League is regarded as the best in the world.
“The club will continue to support our players and coaches to keep pushing hard, together with our fans, to take on every remaining game with the passion and determination that has made this team a success, and one that we’re proud to support.”
