King’s Lynn Stars team boss Lyon lets rip as he blast series of ‘shocking’ refereeing decisions
Many things have transpired to prevent King's Lynn Stars from grabbing valuable points away from home this season – but on Monday team boss Rob Lyon had reason to feel more aggrieved than usual.
This time it wasn't mechanical issues, bad luck or incredibly outstanding riding from the opposition – in this case Wolverhampton Wolves – that stopped Lynn from picking up a deserved point on the road.
A furious Lyon believed a string of 'shocking' refereeing decisions from Margaret Vardy set the tone of the evening for his side, who slipped to a frustrating 51-41 defeat, despite a mid-meeting revival.
The Stars team boss said: 'It was a disastrous start, not helped by a shocking refereeing decision in heat two which definitely set the tone for the rest of the meeting.
'White (Dakota North) was impeded by yellow (Kevin Wolbert), who had come off, and came off himself. But she (Margaret Vardy) didn't put the red lights on until the home straight. Dakota rushed off the track, but there should have been a re-run with Kevin excluded.
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'It was absolutely ridiculous. Three decisions went against us, and at least two out of the three were not even close calls, they were clearly wrong. It's not the first time it's happened and it's frustrating.
'Decisions refs make very often cost us points. Sometimes if they're 50/50 you have to take them on the chin, but you couldn't even argue for them.'
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Weeks after referee Martin Atkinson gave Chelsea a 'ghost goal' in their FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham, Lyon believes poor refereeing is having as a similar effect in the world of speedway.
He said: 'Unfortunately we've seen it a lot in football, especially in recent weeks, where referees have made big errors, and it's manifesting itself in speedway.
'It happens from time to time and everybody is human. People make mistakes, but it doesn't make it any easier. There's a very strong possibility it cost us a point on the night, but it wasn't the only reason we didn't get a league point – it just contributed towards it. Poor decisions simply don't help the momentum of the team.'
