Gianfranco Zola has hit out at Andre Marriner after the referee failed to halt play for a blatant elbow on James Tomkins during last night's 1-1 draw at Portsmouth.
The young defender was felled by a clear elbow by Pompey's Prince Boateng less than six feet away from calamity ref Marriner, who astonishingly waved play on - despite having taken a moment to assess the situation.As Tomkins lay stricken on the floor - where he remained until being hauled off, concussed, some moment later - Portsmouth continued playing and scored an equalising goal, much to the annoyance of Gianfranco Zola who said: "It was a foul. When somebody went to jump with Tomkins they went with the elbow high - that's why I was disappointed with that goal."
Marriner is of course no stranger to controversy where the Hammers are concerned. He was panned by both managers following West Ham's 2-2 draw at Sunderland earlier in the season during which he failed to dismiss Sunderland captain Lorik Cana, who had already been booked, for an horrendous challenge on Mark Noble, before later sending off Radoslav Kovac for an innocuous challenge.
The referee was also heavily criticised for making a spate of unnnecessary bookings during West Ham's defeat at Bolton earlier in the season and for failing to take take action against Liverpool for their treatment of rookie Zavon Hines at the Boleyn Ground earlier in the season.
Last season Marriner came under fire for refusing to allow either of two strong penalty appeals during West Ham's 1-1 draw against Wigan at the Boleyn. He was also heavily criticised by Alan Curbishley the season before for allowing Sunderland to register a later winner in the 2-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light.
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