Birmingham City were left furious after their equaliser was ruled out in their 2-1 defeat against Ipswich after Ibrahim Osman was adjudged to have run the ball out of play
Ibrahim Osman was shocked by the decision(Image: Izzy Poles – AMA/Getty Images)
Birmingham City manager Chris Davies slammed the “scandalous” decision that denied his side a draw against Ipswich Town. Birmingham succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the promotion-chasing Tractor Boys on Easter Monday in controversial circumstances.
The away side took the lead through Carlos Vicente in the 32nd minute but Ipswich roared back. Goals from Ben Johnson and Kasey McAteer turned the tables in the home side’s favour, making it 2-1 before half-time.
The controversy came in the 70th minute when Birmingham were convinced they had equalised, only for referee Adam Herczeg to rule that the ball had gone out of play in the build-up. Ibrahim Osman crossed the ball and Ipswich defender Dara O’Shea could only send it into his own net.
However, the whistle blew immediately, with the officials deeming that Osman had run it out of play before crossing. Birmingham questioned the decision by posting a screenshot on social media which appeared to show it hadn’t fully crossed the line.
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They have now lost six of their last eight games in the Championship and have plummeted to 15th place, while the vital win moved Ipswich up to second past Millwall after their defeat by Norwich in the early kick-off.
“The way we played today, we deserved at least a point,” Birmingham boss Davies said. “I said to the players, I was proud to be their manager today because we’ve had criticism, and rightly so, we’ve not been anywhere near it in some games, but we looked like a different animal today. We were getting the ball forward, we were putting pressure on them.
Birmingham questioned the decision on social media(Image: X)
“There was a commitment, we were winning duels, tackles, we looked strong physically. This is one of the best teams in the league and I thought we were more than a match for them. And as the game grew and grew, it was only us that looked really threatening and we’ve had a decision by a linesman that has cost us this game today.
“We scored a legitimate goal and for a linesman to guess from 60 yards away, when every single player around the ball knew that ball was in play, and for that to cost us the result, for me is scandalous. They have got away with one there. It’s cost us everything that the players put in, has been undermined by a decision like that.
“And you can see the reaction of our supporters. They were clapping the players off because they know, and they can see it. The players gave everything and we were so close and deserved more.”
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