Irish midfielder Alan Judge insisted that he didn’t expect or need an apology from referee Darren Drysdale after the incident that took place in the League One game between Ipswich Town and Northampton Town on Tuesday night.
In the final moments of the match, which finished 0-0, referee Darren Drysdale appeared to square up to Alan Judge when the Ipswich player appealed for a penalty after going down in the box.
Drysdale seemed to move his head in the direction of Judge’s, forcing players from both teams to intervene and restrain the referee.
Referee Darren Drysdale appeared to square up to Alan Judge before booking the Ipswich player in their goalless draw against Northampton this evening. pic.twitter.com/ZexMTxYIx7
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 16, 2021
The Football Association has already charged Drysdale with improper conduct while the official issued a public apology to Ipswich and Judge on Wednesday.
“I fully understand that it is important for us as referees to maintain our composure throughout the game and always engage with players in a professional manner,” Drysdale said in a statement released by PGMOL.
“I’m sorry that I did not do that last night and I can only apologise to Alan and Ipswich Town.”
Speaking about the incident for the first time, Judge claimed that he didn’t require an apology and didn’t want to see Drysdale charged.
According to the Dubliner, the confrontation was something that can happen in the passion of football and Judge held no ill feeling towards the referee after the incident.
“Referees have a tough job to do and it was heat of the moment stuff that happens in football,” Judge told Ipswich’s website.
As I said in this ?. There was no need for an apology. I wasn’t looking for one or looking for any action to be taken. In football as everybody knows stuff happens in the heat of the moment in a game. We all make mistakes and for me that is the end of this https://t.co/ujQsF9lQ4N
— alan judge (@10judgey) February 17, 2021
“The photo makes it look worse than it was and to be honest, the matter was finished with from my end as soon as I walked off the pitch.
“I wasn’t looking for the referee to apologise; I wasn’t looking for him to be charged. There was never going to be a complaint from me and I made that clear.
“Like I said, for me – it was finished with straight away.”
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