Valerien Ismael holds up list of all refereeing mistakes against Blackburn this season following a 1-1 draw against Ipswich.
He wasn’t happy with the decision not to send off Ipswich’s Azor Matusiwa for bringing down Ryoya Morishita shortly before half-time, said it should have been a penalty regarding the Yuki Ohashi incident, then a corner for Blackburn before Ipswich’s late leveller.
Andri Gudjohnsen’s sixth goal of the season saw Blackburn come so close to sealing a big three points, but after Sindre Walle Egeli slotted an injury time equaliser to leave the home fans frustrated.
The result sees Ipswich unable to return to to the Championship play-off places, a point back in 7th. Blackburn stay 18th but are now four points above the drop zone.
How is this not a red card?#BRFC | #Rovers | #ITFC pic.twitter.com/GT1sQXDixj
— RoversXtra (@RoversXtra) December 2, 2025
Should this be a penalty on Ohashi?#BRFC | #Rovers | #ITFC pic.twitter.com/azZbz1h7cR
— RoversXtra (@RoversXtra) December 2, 2025
He said to RoversTV: “First of all, I want to start on the positivity as I think it was a great game and a full performance from the boys, playing on the front foot, aggressive, winning the ball.
“Ipswich didn’t really come into the game and I think we made exactly what we wanted.
“We had the chance to add some quality in the second half with Toddy [Cantwell] and we scored a goal, but we conceded at the end, which is really painful.
“What I loved is having that connection with our fans today. I think we felt something, which is what I said to the players after the game. The fans gave us a good feeling throughout the game.
“We need that positivity and we need our fans on Saturday to go again. This is the way we have to stay because they recognised that the performance was right and they can be proud of the boys.
“We faced a lot of adversity and tonight is another painful moment for us.
“We have to keep that positivity. The connection was there, we were together with the fans and we must keep our heads up.”
On the decision not to send off Ipswich’s Azor Matusiwa for bringing down Ryoya Morishita shortly before half-time, he said to told BBC Radio Lancashire: “We were very strong, we pressed well and forced mistakes. It was a great first half and the second half we were solid. We took the lead and conceded the goal again so it’s very painful.
“Normally we should talk about the three points tonight to enjoy but tonight I cannot not talk about the referee, enough is enough, we just put the list for all the decisions this season against us.
“The (lack of a) red card is a disgrace. It’s terrible. I can’t accept that. It’s a penalty on Yuki [Ohashi, in a separate incident] and the last situation is a corner for us (before Ipswich’s equaliser) so again the standard from the referee in the Championship is terrible.
“Every game, every three days it’s always the same with the decision and standard is really poor. It’s unacceptable, it can happen one or two decisions I didn’t say anything but now that one with the red card it is obvious.
“This is a terrible decision that’s why I have to talk about it – it’s very disgraceful to show that kind of performance because no one can understand and follow the decision making from the referee.
“Every time is the same it’s always sorry but we what we want is to raise the standard. It can’t stay like this.”
🚨 Aura, Ismael holds a list up of the refereeing mistakes made against his side this season. 👏🏼 #rovers pic.twitter.com/vZhKEE38X9
— allrovers (@allrovers_) December 2, 2025
🎙VI: “No penalty at WBA, AG at Watford. Charlton handball, no penalty. Swansea, no penalty. PNEFC, no red card on Whiteman. No penalty on PG. Wxm, no foul by RH. Ipswich, clear red card and a penalty on Yuki. It’s as simple as that, they have to do their job.”#BRFC | #Rovers pic.twitter.com/3g1TmylPjM
— RoversXtra (@RoversXtra) December 2, 2025
🎙VI: “Maybe it’s because it’s a former Prem club & they wanted to help them. Nobody can understand. It’s a terrible decision & I have to talk about it. It’s disgraceful to see that type of performance. Nobody can understand & follow the decision-making.”#BRFC | #Rovers | #ITFC pic.twitter.com/yvMhseYsBM
— RoversXtra (@RoversXtra) December 2, 2025
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk:
“I don’t think it was a good performance in any aspect. It was a tough game but we weren’t good enough so I don’t think the performance merited anything from it.
“We’re happy we got the moment at the end and happy for Sindre.
“The reality of this season is we can have more chances and shots but if we don’t win it will be called a bad performance and I think we’ve had lots of games like that this year.
“We are one of the top teams in the league on most things, we’ve had among the most shots, we don’t concede many shots, we’re certainly not as smooth as what I would want us to be but I think there’s been good things about performances but we haven’t turned that into results.
“Tonight was different, tonight was a poor performance. We know we have a lot to improve and tonight was a big step back in performance and we need to deliver much more.”
Twitter users had their say after Valerien Ismael holds up a list of all refereeing mistakes against Blackburn this season…
@jamesgeesus: He’s just right tbf, 3 game-changing decisions that the ref got wrong in a game that were harshly having to replay in full against 11 men. It’s harsh blaming the players considering the effort and the players we were up against. He just needs to keep the morale up now.
@Leap_year_man: Stop putting De Neve on when we need to see a game out, he is the biggest liability in the squad ffs. Why can’t you see that Ribeiro would be the better option at 1-0? It’s our own fault we threw 3 points away yet again. For the record I completely agree the standard of officiating is a disgrace & the number of awful decisions from refs against us this season is unacceptable costing us so many points, but we must accept the points dropped are also down to us not being poor in key moments of games
@EwoodExaminer: Fighting talk from Ismael, who is doing an excellent job with a completely new squad ravaged by injuries. Never seen a manager whip out a list of complaints in an interview before. Keep the faith #rovers fans, this squad is growing.
@bav_aled: A sickener of every proportion. Invited the pressure on Saturday, but this was so close to being the perfect confidence booster. Feel for Ismael & the players. Haven’t done much wrong tonight. Minimum 7 pts from the next 3 has to be the aim now. The squad is fighting! #Rovers
@webbsyK83: Oh god, this is going to become a meme isn’t it? #Rovers
@_kieranbl: Reminds me of a teacher holding up some shit homework handed in the day before
@KatieTKSFTBL: FA Respect – “We all have a responsibility to promote high standards of behaviour in the game” – @FA Where is your accountability with the dreadful consistency of refereeing decisions in the Championship?#Rovers
@MFRFC55: probably get fined for this. The referees are too protected. They should watch the highlights on key decisions and give an interview justifying their wrongdoing. Fairplay to Val for highlighting this but we still create our own downfall.
@S27GDM: We can moan about playing against 12, not getting a penalty, them getting a yellow instead of a nailed on red. We can moan (rightly so) about piss poor game management. Bottom line is we were the better side and had enough chances to be well ahead. We didn’t take them #rovers
@Monty5493: With the squad we’ve got right now, I’d have took a point before the game. Only one team deserved something from that game. Refs bottled a stonewall red card. Another 2 points thrown away 🫠 #Rovers
