Bristol City vs Wrexham ref watch: Three decisions Ruebyn Ricardo got wrong
Ruebyn Ricardo was the man in the middle as Bristol City welcomed Wrexham to Ashton Gate Stadium on Tuesday night.
Phil Parkinson‘s side had the chance to move into the top six Championship spots with three points, while the Robins are fighting to stay in contention for the play-offs with 16 games of the season remaining.
Bristol City started the brightest, but it was Wrexham who took the lead through Ollie Rathbone.
Sinclair Armstrong changed the game for the home side after a half-time substitution, making multiple chances straight away until a Joe Williams own goal turned the tide again on Tuesday, 17 February.
Max Bird emerged as the Robins’ hero in the 89th minute, with the sides having to settle for a point each.
Bristol City see early penalty call waved away
Just minutes into the game, the Robins were already crying for a spot-kick when the ball bounced up and appeared to hit a Wrexham defender on his outstretched arm.
Referee Ricardo seemed to be in a good position to judge the incident, and many were expecting the whistle to be blown, but as the referee walked away, fans were left outraged.
It was a costly decision as Rathbone scored the opener in the 34th minute, and those at Ashton Gate made their feelings about the official well known.
Ruebyn Ricardo misses blatant Dominic Hyam caution
Dominic Hyam might have already been on a yellow card after an early incident in the first half, and he was involved once again in a tightly fought second 45 minutes at Ashton Gate.
In the 67th minute, Hyam committed yet another foul, this time on Armstrong, before booting the ball away in frustration and sparking a confrontation between several others.
If not for kicking the ball away when the Robins wanted to take a quick free-kick, the referee should have dished out a yellow card for sparking an argument amongst players. Foolish.
Wrexham’s second goal could have been ruled out
There is an argument to be made that the Red Dragons’ second goal should have been chalked off for offside, with Lewis O’Brien ahead of the backtracking defender.
It could be claimed that the centre-back has only attempted to play the ball because of the player behind him, which would lend itself to an offside decision near the end.