What the Papers Say

It was a game both had to win but for slightely different reasons. Blackburn needed a win to go equal fourth, and Wigan needed it to keep up with the UEFA Cup hopefuls. Sadly, the game was over-shadowed by one of the most incompetent refereeing performances i personally have seen in a long time.

Here is what a selection of newspapers said about last nights game and the joke that is Phil Dowd.

The Sun

Blackburn 1 Wigan 1

Paul Jewell blasted referee Phil Dowd for denying Wigan victory.

Dowd missed a push on keeper John Filan in the build-up to Blackburn's equaliser, and he also ruled out a goal from Wigan skipper Arjan De Zeeuw for offside.

Jewell said: "We deserved to win againbut the referee cost us the game. It's a blatant push. The guy just barged into John and he didn't even give a foul."

"It's not even a close one but i thought the referee's performance throughout was not a very good one."

The Independent

Jewell fumes Wigan were 'robbed by worst referee'

This was a game all about two goals that were disallowed- and a third that was given but might well not have been.

In the end, Blackburn Rovers extended their unbeaten home run to 11 games with a controversial late equaliser and Paul Jewell, the Wigan manager, walked headlong into an FA disrepute charge with some stinging observations on the performance of Phil Dowd, the referee.

Wigan at least gained the point that Jewell had targeted before the match to make them mathematically safe from relegation.

The Mirror