Bolton are set to
receive an apology from referee Rob Styles for the astonishing
penalty mistake he made at Old Trafford. The official has asked his
superiors at his governing body, the PGMOL, to pass on his regret
at awarding Manchester United
a spot-kick when Cristiano Ronaldo was clearly tackled fairly by
Jlloyd Samuel on Saturday.
It is the second time in just over a year that Styles has had to
apologise for a penalty error after pointing to the spot at Anfield
in August last season when Liverpool full back Steve Finnan
collided with Chelsea's Florent Malouda.
That decision proved crucial as it allowed Chelsea to draw the
match 1-1 and the referee was dropped as a result. He was
temporarily demoted again after awarding Birmingham a soft penalty
against Manchester City in March.
Styles' latest significant mistake may also have changed the
game, as Bolton were holding on with the match goalless when the
kick was awarded and converted on the hour. United went on to win
2-0.
The 44-year-old had a clear view of Samuel's challenge and has
been heavily criticised for the error, with Bolton manager Gary
Megson claiming Styles was the only person inside Old Trafford who
thought it was a foul.
Even Sir Alex Ferguson admitted it did not look like a penalty
and Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer attacked Styles for not
explaining his decision after the match.
But Sportsmail understands the referee realised his mistake
almost immediately from the reaction of everyone around him and
subsequently confirmed it was an error when reviewing the game on
video.
Referees' apologies appear to be increasing in frequency after
Alan Wiley telephoned David Moyes two weeks ago after not giving
Everton a penalty at Stoke. But Steve Bennett's reaction to
comments from Manchester City manager Mark Hughes yesterday over
his performance may not be as contrite.
The referee gave a 34thminute penalty to Wigan which was
converted by Amr Zaki after Javier Garrido was deemed to have
fouled Wilson Palacios and it proved to be the winner.
Hughes said: 'All we ask is that the referees get the big
decisions right. Today they were not made correctly and that's made
a direct impact on the result. We feel today the referee has played
a part in the outcome. The player has looked to gain an advantage
by diving theatrically. 'Referees will have bad days just like the
rest of us and this was one of them.'