Millwall defender Jake Cooper: I was denied a clear penalty in Hull City match – refs need to take more responsibility

BY RICHARD CAWLEY

Jake Cooper reckons he was denied a stonewall penalty in Millwall’s 1-1 draw with Hull City.

The centre-back has urged referees to clamp down on the way teams are stopping the Lions from attacking set-pieces.
Jed Wallace did score from the spot after Matt Smith was brought down.

But Cooper and Smith both appealed strongly inside the area after that as well but referee Oliver Langford was unmoved.

“I [should have] had a penalty in the first half,” said Cooper. “If that happens anywhere else on the pitch it is a foul every day of the week.

“You’re not going to get them all, refs are reluctant to give decisions like that in English football.

“Refs need to look at it. We’re talking to the refs every time, telling them they are fouling. There’s not much more we can do, they have to take responsibility and look at our games and how people are fouling us all the time.

“It’s not great when it happens.

“We got a penalty in the first half, maybe that made the ref not want to give us another one.

“It [set-plays] are massive for us. It’s why teams will do anything to stop us.

“He [Langford] just said there was another one in our box [when asked why he had not given Cooper’s claim]. I certainly didn’t foul because I don’t touch the man I’m marking. I don’t know if someone else had done something.

“He was comparing our defending corners with their defending corners – there was no similarity.

“I would have had three penalties already if we had it [VAR] but unfortunately the funding isn’t there for it to be in this league.”