Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill launched a furious critique of the standard of officiating in the Guinness Pro14 despite securing their first win of the season with a 17-10 victory over Connacht on Friday night.
Connacht’s captain Jarrad Butler saw yellow for a deliberate knock-on but Cockerill was adamant Connacht's persistent infringing should have seen further action from the referee. Speaking to Edinburgh Live, the Englishman was infuriated Connacht were allowed to 'cheat.'
Fifteen penalties to four and just one yellow card. If you’re going to let teams cheat like that, then that’s what you get. It threatens the credibility of the competition 100 percent.
Welshman Ian Davies was the match referee for the game. However, Cockerill maintained that his gripe is with the overall standard. His comments provoked a strong reaction.
Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill has launched an attack on the standard of referring in the PRO14 and called for the @PRO14Official board to do something about it. Welsh referee Ian Davies in his firing line after Edinburgh’s win over Connacht.
— Rob Robertson (@SDM_Robertson) September 14, 2018
Hard to disagree with Richard Cockerill's complaints about PRO14 refereeing. Tonight's game was a shambles as Connacht were miles offside all night - as any side (Edinburgh included) would be if they were allowed to get away with it.
— Alasdair Reid (@AlasdairReid3) September 14, 2018
Just watched Edinburgh vs Connacht and comparing it to the Premiership and can’t help but agree with Richard Cockerill. Officiating not up to par in the Pro14
— crouch_bind_set (@BindSet) September 14, 2018
As reported by the BBC, Cockerill referenced the try that saw Ulster launch a dramatic comeback: "Last week, the first Ulster try was crossing - he comes back and says, 'yeah, it's crossing, it should've been your penalty."
The incident he was referring to can be seen here.
