Jean-Philippe Mateta was not a happy man at full-time on Tuesday, despite scoring the winner for Crystal Palace against Ipswich.
Amazon Prime cameras picked up the Frenchman arguing with Craig Pawson, getting close enough to the action for viewers to hear the Crystal Palace No.14 cry: “You don’t know. It’s not fair!”
The £9m striker quickly put whatever was upsetting him to one side, as he could be seen lapping up the adulation in front of the away supporters inside Portman Road.
It remains to be seen what upset Jean-Philippe Mateta on Tuesday, but we think we know the reason.
Jean-Philippe Mateta may have been annoyed by Craig Pawson ignoring the rules
During the second half, Pawson blew his whistle after Eberechi Eze was adjudged to be narrowly offside, despite the fact a promising attack was about to commence.
Since the introduction of VAR, referees have been instructed not to blow their whistle – even if the linesman has raised his flag – in case the player in question was ultimately onside after a VAR check.
However, Pawson was quick to sound his whistle just as Eze looked set to create another golden opportunity for the 27-year-old striker.
Judging by the fact Mateta, who said Dean Henderson helped him score, quite clearly said “you don’t know” to Pawson, we believe this poor display of officiating was still on his mind at full-time, and rightly so.
-Ipswich went on to hit the post with just minutes remaining, squandering a fantastic chance to make it 1-1 and potentially go on to push for a winner, so the hasty offside call may well have cost us on another day.
Crystal Palace dug in
In what was a gritty, dogged performance from Crystal Palace, Oliver Glasner’s side showed Ipswich what it takes to make it in the Premier League.
It was clear for all to see that Crystal Palace have enjoyed over a decade of consecutive Premier League football, whereas Ipswich are newcomers at this level, as the Eagles passed the ball around confidently, got stuck into physical battles where required, and took the crucial chance when it presented itself.
Ipswich No.5 Sam Morsy even complimented Crystal Palace on how physically dominant the Eagles were at Portman Road.
Glasner will have wanted to see exactly that from his side in what was a crucial six-pointer, and Crystal Palace now have some breathing space after moving up to 16th in the Premier League.
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