Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson brings up the issue of multiple unpunished calls going against forward Sam Smith to light.
Matchday 40 of the Championship has seen Wrexham drop points against relegation-threatened West Bromwich. While the Reds are to blame for a lacklustre first half again, refereeing calls also played a huge part in shaping the 2‑2 draw.
Unsurprisingly, Phil Parkinson looked infuriated after the game. Even setting aside the debatable penalty call against Issa Kaboré in the first half, the Wrexham manager had plenty to address in his post‑match interview.
One such glaring issue was the repeated pattern of unpunished fouls on forward Sam Smith. As quoted by the BBC, Parkinson raised the matter, saying: “I have briefly (spoken to the referee after the game) and the other thing I’m getting very frustrated with is the treatment Sam Smith’s been getting.”
The surprising part of the situation is that the head of the referees’ committee himself admitted that Smith was unlucky not to win fouls in several situations. Parkinson brought the issue to light, saying: “I sent all the incidents to the head of the referees and he agreed with me on nearly every one.”
Smith has been on the receiving end of harsh calls lately
Occasional refereeing errors or decisions going against a player are often overlooked. But the number of unpunished fouls on Sam Smith has been surprisingly high lately.
The tally has grown so significant that Phil Parkinson recalled key moments from recent games. Starting with the defeat at Watford, he said: “Watford away, the amount times he got hauled to the floor, blocked and body-checked.”
It’s worth noting that the evidence supports the manager’s concerns about refereeing calls. Beyond Smith being blocked by Watford players during his dangerous runs into the box, the Hornets also resorted to using multiple markers on him during corners.
Much of this happened after Max Cleworth had brought Wrexham back into the game with his header to make it 2‑1. These unpunished fouls played a part in keeping Watford safe from a possible Wrexham fightback.
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Next, Parkinson highlighted a glaring error from Wrexham’s trip to Bramall Lane. The manager said: “We then go to Sheffield United and [Japhet] Tanganga pulls him down which is a straight red card and the free-kick gets given against Smudge (Smith).”
The incident occurred in the 60th minute. With Wrexham pushing for a winner after Josh Windass had brought them back into the game, Smith charged into the Sheffield United box in a clear goalscoring opportunity.
However, a last‑man challenge from Tanganga brought both him and Smith to the ground. It should have been a red card for the Blades defender, but the referee awarded a foul in Tanganga’s favour instead.
Who knows? A likely sending‑off might have allowed Wrexham to exploit the 10‑man advantage and find a winner much earlier than Smith’s 78th‑minute strike.
Smith’s case reflects a consensus of decisions against Wrexham
While Phil Parkinson highlighted the excessive number of unpunished fouls on Smith alone, he isn’t the only Wrexham player being denied. Several attackers have been on the wrong end of crucial calls and penalty claims in recent games.
Notably, Ollie Rathbone was denied a convincingly clear penalty in the defeat to Watford. In the 17th minute, slight contact from Watford’s Chakvetadze on his back caused him to miss a clear in‑box opportunity to put Wrexham ahead.
Not only was Wrexham’s appeal denied, but the irony is that Chakvetadze orchestrated the counterattack from that very play to give Watford a 1‑0 lead. As Wrexham players swarmed the referee in protest, Chakvetadze combined with Bola to put the hosts ahead.
A similar call went against injury‑returnee Kieffer Moore in the game against West Brom. The incident occurred as Wrexham were pushing to complete their fightback from 2‑0 down and find a winner in one of the final attacks.
A brilliant ball from George Dobson found Moore charging into the box. While Moore got his shot away, he felt a kick from West Brom defender George Campbell during the attempt.
In an ideal world, Wrexham would have been awarded a penalty to seal the tie and complete a 3‑2 comeback. Instead, the referee waved away the claims and played on.
It’s easy to observe the pattern of decisions that have cost Wrexham multiple points recently. While the Reds have been on the wrong end of calls before, such decisions in the final stretch of the season can affect their playoff charge.
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