Oldham lodge complaint to FA over choice of referee in Halifax defeat

Town celebrate their winner at Oldham. Photo: Marcus Branston

Town won the game 1-0 thanks to Mani Dieseruvwe’s rebound goal when his penalty was saved, while former Halifax striker Mike Fondop was sent-off in the match.

Watson provoked the ire of the home fans several times during the match, as well as Unsworth, who was booked, although Halifax boss Chris Millington praised Watson’s performance afterwards, telling the Courier: "I thought the referee did very well, there were a couple of things I'd have maybe given our way, but all in all I thought the officiating was fantastic, I thought they were excellent in very, very difficult circumstances."

But Oldham have made their case for why Watson should not have been appointed in an official report to the FA.

It was the first time Watson had officiated at National League level, having been promoted by Rochdale Referees’ Association just last month, and The Latics feel he should not have taken charge of an important match in-front of 7,00 fans.

Social media posts from Watson, some of which were deleted after the full-time whistle, also suggested he is a supporter of rival club Rochdale. Although this is not something that would prevent the FA assigning him to an Oldham fixture, The Oldham Times understands that Latics feel it is another factor which should have been taken into consideration for his first game.

“There was a lot of stuff going on. There was a loss of control within the game,” Unsworth told the Oldham Times in his post-match press conference following Saturday’s game.

“Everybody has to start somewhere but it was a game that probably needed someone else.

“It is a big game and there was all sorts going on. There were fouls, time wasting, decisions for them and for us, the fourth official was everywhere but nowhere, getting involved, not getting involved. It felt like a bizarre 95 minutes in that respect.”

Unsworth did not dispute the red card shown to Fondop early in the second half, but questioned the penalty awarded to Halifax and other incidents.