Wolves boss Gary O’Neil says there “could be” an unconscious bias towards the bigger teams in the Premier League when it comes to refereeing decisions.
John Stones scored a controversial late winner for Manchester City at Molineux on Sunday which was given via VAR after initially being ruled out for offside against Bernardo Silva.
“I can categorically tell you they don’t mean to,” said O’Neil when asked about potential bias after the match.
“They are 100 per cent honest. I just know from a human point of view it’s tough.
“I feel different playing Manchester City than someone else in the Carabao Cup first round. I’m sure they feel it, they are human. I don’t know if I’m miles off, it just feels there could be.”
Silva was initially ruled offside from Stones’ header after standing in front of Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa from the last minute corner. However, referee Chris Kavanagh was summoned to the pitch side monitor and reversed his decision after determining the Portugal international was not interfering with play.
“If I had to upset someone in the street and there’s a big and little guy in the street, I’m upsetting the little guy,” O’Neil added.
“There is something in there and they don’t do it on purpose and are doing the best job they can.
“Maybe there’s something which just edges it in that direction when it’s really tight.”