[Balis-of-Steel]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2...050561,00.html

REFS' supremo Philip Don has admitted rock- bottom West Brom are getting a raw deal from bungling officials.


The Baggies have not been awarded ONE penalty this season after being promoted to the top flight and have been on the receiving end of some shocking decisions.

That fact has been acknowledged by Don, manager of the so-called select group of professional officials, set up in June 2001 with the aim of raising refereeing standards.

Gary Megson's men were so incensed by their unfair treatment they compiled their own 'video nasty' of dodgy decisions and sent them to Don for viewing.

Don admitted he has called the game's 24 elite referees together to review some of the decisions that have gone against the club and has discussed the situation with their secretary, Dr John Evans.

Albion's cause is being championed by top-class ref Mike Shelley, a lifelong Baggies fan who was forced to put away his whistle because of ill-health.

Shelley, 61, has bombarded Don with complaints and says the replies he has received back up his claim refs have cost his club nine or 10 points this season.

The former assessor is dismayed by the way the top clubs keep getting the benefit of the doubt against lower-ranked opponents.

He said: "The latest shocker was in Manchester United's 6-0 FA Cup win over West Ham, when Lee Bowyer was blatantly brought down by Gary Neville in the penalty box.

"If you cannot get an obvious penalty against Manchester United when they are 6-0 up, what chance have you got in an evenly-balanced game?

"There must be a temptation, conscious or otherwise, to avoid aggravating the top clubs, who have most influence over which referees get the best marks.

"Upsetting clubs like West Brom may not matter - they could be back in the First Division next season but you know the likes of Manchester United are staying put."

Evans said: "We made our own video after the Newcastle match, where we were denied what appeared a clear penalty and Newcastle benefited from a debatable back-pass decision.

"Mr Don was quite sympathetic and said from viewing the videos he'd noted a number of incidents where he thought we were unfortunate."