Fulham star Harry Wilson was fortunate to avoid a caution for dissent regarding his spray at referee Darren Bond over a controversial decision.
Wilson was brought down inside the area by Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy in the second half of Fulham‘s 2-2 draw with the Tractor Boys at Craven Cottage.
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However, referee Bond initially waved away Wilson’s protests and allowed play to continue.
Bond’s decision sparked a furious reaction from Wilson, as the Welsh international sprung to his feet and hurled some rather unsavoury insults at the official.
Wilson had to be forcefully pushed back by a number of his teammates, such was his anger at Bond.
According to talkSPORT’s Sam Matterface, Wilson said to Bond: “You’re a cheat.”
But luckily for Fulham, Bond was instructed by VAR to review the incident on the pitschside monitor.
Slow-motion replays showed Morsy had indeed made slight contact with Wilson’s leg, leaving Bond with little choice but to award the penalty.
Fulham striker Raul Jimenez stepped up and coolly slotted home from the spot to cancel out Sammie Szmodics’ early opener for Ipswich.
Speaking on the incident, former Chelsea and West Ham midfielder Scott Minto was surprised Bond even needed VAR to intervene.
“It looked from here a stonewall penalty and even more so on the replay,” Minto said on talkSPORT.
“I don’t want to say well done VAR, because you’re doing your job.”
However, Minto felt Wilson was a lucky man not to have been booked by Bond for his irate reaction regarding the penalty.
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“I just wonder, Harry Wilson got up really aggressively and I don’t know if he swore or not,” Minto said.
“But at what point do you turn around and say, whether it was a right or wrong decision, you’re not allowed to say something like that with a card.
“But you can tell he was absolutely fouled.”
Several fans on social media were left less than impressed by Wilson’s conduct and believed Bond should have booked him for dissent.
One fan wrote on X: “Not sure how Harry Wilson didn’t get done for dissent, even though that was a poor decision.”
Another said: “Appreciate Harry Wilson is angry at a shocking decision but how wasn’t he booked for running and screaming at the referee?”
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One supporter added: “It’s a penalty but the way Harry Wilson has just spoken to the ref is absolutely unacceptable and he deserves a booking minimum.”
Bond would once again make a controversial decision almost immediately as Ipswich’s Liam Delap was brought down in the area by Timothy Castagne.
VAR ultimately backed up Bond’s decision, but Minto could not believe his eyes at what had transpired.
“No way is that a penalty, I’m sorry,” Minto said.
“He’s maybe clipped his foot, but not enough for Liam Delap to go down.
“Even going into him, it’s body-to-body.
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“I don’t want to have a pop at referee Darren Bond. It’s obviously a difficult job to do, but he didn’t want to give that one down the other end and he couldn’t have given this penalty quick enough down this end.”
Despite Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s best efforts to distract him, Delap smashed home the penalty to put Ipswich back in the lead with 19 minutes remaining.
Unfortunately for the Tractor Boys they were unable to hold on to their lead as Bond pointed to the spot for a staggering third time.
Ipswich’s Leif Davis was the guilty party as he made a foolish tackle on Jimenez inside the box, giving Bond an easy decision to make.
Jimenez buried the resulting penalty in second-half stoppage time to rescue a point for the Cottagers.
By doing so, Jimenez became the highest-scoring Mexican in Premier League history.
The 2-2 result ensured Fulham finished the weekend in ninth while Ipswich remain stuck in the relegation zone on 16 points.
