Davis angered after assistant fails to spot shirt pull

Steve Davis was disappointed that Crewe Alexandra was not awarded a penalty kick in the first half of our home game against Coventry City. From the Main Stand view of the Alexandra Stadium, it looked obvious that Uche Ikpeazu had his shirt pulled as he tried to use his frame to get a shot off. The on-loan Watford striker was certainly impeded but didn’t go down and neither the referee nor his assistant on that side saw the offence.

It left Davis fuming at the end of the game as Crewe went on to lose 2-1 thanks to Callum Wilson’s two goals.

The Crewe boss told the club’s official web-site: “I think most people on that side saw that the defender had hold of Uche’s shirt. Where he was positioned, the referee probably didn’t have the best of views, but the linesman had a great view.

“He didn’t help us there at all and just because the forward doesn’t fall over doesn’t mean it’s not a penalty. It was a shirt pull because Uche had got the better of him and the linesman was not bold or brave enough to give it. They should be brave enough to give fouls even if the forward tries to stay on his feet.

“It could have made a big difference at an important time of the game for us. “