John Mousinho’s ‘harsh’ judgement questioned after Portsmouth incident vs Southampton
John Mousinho had a controversial end to Portsmouth’s clash with Southampton on Sunday.
In the first South Coast derby since 2019, Portsmouth came out with a 0-0 draw at St. Mary’s.
However, while the action of the pitch was limited, there was plenty going on off it.
John Mousinho and Will Still appeared to have an altercation at full-time when the managers shook hands.
However, it was the Pompey manager’s post-match press conference which seemed to cause the most controversy.
This article includes exclusive comment from Premier League commentator Ian Darke.
Ian Darke: John Mousinho wrong in Tom Fellows assessment
One of the biggest moments of the game came in the first half when Portsmouth’s Nicolas Schmid was taken off with an injury due to a clash with Connor Ogilvie.
However, while the incident appeared to be purely accidental, Mousinho blamed Tom Fellows for the injuries to the Portsmouth duo.
This was no doubt a controversial take on the incident, with Ian Darke exclusively telling Pompey News that the manager may have misjudged the situation.
- Schmid and Ogilvie clashed in the first half of the South Coast derby
- The two were eventually forced off the field with their injuries
- However, Mousinho blames Southampton’s Tom Fellows for the clash
He said: “It was quite a harsh view. I don’t often disagree with John Mousinho, as he is doing a fabulous job as Pompey manager.
“He clearly felt that pretty strongly, and made that view very clear to the fourth official.
“It looked to me like a collision of three players who all arrived around the same point and all had a right to go for it.
“I didn’t see Fellows as a guy who caused the injuries to the two players. It was three players converging on the ball, and Schmid probably shouldn’t have even come out.
“It would be harsh to blame Tom Fellows for causing the injuries; it was one of those things that happens.
“There was a little shove, but maybe that wasn’t to cause injury, but to buy himself a bit of space, or breaking tide as they were all on a collision course.”
John Mousinho needs to apologise to Tom Fellows
While the manager may have thought Fellows was at fault for the incident, replays show that there was little the Southampton star could have done.
In fact, Schmid may have been at fault for the injuries at Portsmouth, due to his rash decision to come out for the ball.
Therefore, Mousinho should look to apologise to Fellows as the winger did little wrong in the incident.
Hopefully, all parties can then quickly move on and look forward to their upcoming matches.
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