Chris Wilder slams referee Sam Allison for failing to award Sheffield United a penalty in 1-0 loss to Millwall on Tuesday night.
The referee has come under scrutiny following accusations that he asked a player for their shirt after a match, leaving the team’s manager furious.
Chris Wilder, the manager of Sheffield United, claimed that the referee made this request after officiating a game against Luton last season.
Wilder specifically pointed to an incident involving Ross Barkley, suggesting that the referee’s alleged behaviour was inappropriate and unprofessional.
Wilder expressed his dissatisfaction with the referee’s actions during that match, further claims not just from the Blades boss have added to ongoing debates about referee impartiality and professionalism in the sport, though no official response from the refereeing body, PGMOL, has been detailed in relation to this specific incident.
I’ve not been a fan of the referee since he asked for Ross Barkley’s shirt when we played Luton last season.
Chris Wilder slams ref Sam Allison after failing to award the Blades a penalty in 1-0 loss v #Millwall | #sufc #EFL #Blades pic.twitter.com/BBYlk7rQF5
— Justin Allen (@justinallen1976) April 8, 2025
Chris Wilder on referee Sam Allison:
“I’ve not been a fan of the referee since he asked for Ross Barkley’s shirt when we played Luton last season.”
(Via: @justinallen1976) pic.twitter.com/oft6OY14zO
— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) April 9, 2025
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder on back-to-back defeats after losing 1-0 to Millwall at Bramall Lane.
Full interview in Blades Heaven
https://t.co/i2KMpVazJA#SUFC | @BBCSheffield pic.twitter.com/foLjgHHvlo
— Football Heaven (@footballheaven) April 8, 2025
On not getting a first-half penalty when Jake Cooper pulled Anel Ahmedhodzic’s shirt in the penalty area, Wilder said, per Yorkshire Post: “One hundred per cent. I’m not a fan of the referee (Sam Allison). I don’t think I should get into trouble on that one, if I’m being honest, either.
“I wasn’t a fan of him last season when he refereed us against Luton and was asking for Ross Barkley’s shirt. I don’t know whose shirt he was after – maybe the shirt on Anel’s back that got absolutely ripped to pieces.
“I always think he wants to be the star of the show. So I knew what was coming and I wasn’t surprised.”
“I wasn’t a fan of him last season when he refereed us against Luton and was asking for Ross Barkley’s shirt. I don’t know whose shirt he was after – maybe the shirt on Anel’s back that got absolutely ripped to pieces.
“I always think he wants to be the star of the show. So I knew what was coming and I wasn’t surprised.”
“It’s a frustrating night for everybody connected (with the club) on and off the pitch,” he admitted.
“A couple of poor goals we’ve given away in the last two games put us on the back foot and make the game double difficult, especially in this division when you concede the first goal.
“The goal (scored by Josh Coburn) was a poor goal from our point of view, we were in a really good shape, we just have to make better decisions.
“Femi (Seriki) goes backward and square, Sydie (Peck) goes back, the goalkeeper gets trapped, we’re open and they find a fabulous finish. It gives them a boost.
“I thought up to half-time we were okay, we had enough of the ball without finding the quality we needed to.
“The attitude of the players was good. I’m not going to criticise them from that point of view.
“Sometimes you want them to be a little bit calmer but they’re anxious to get themselves back in the game and they leave themselves open, we make some poor decisions.
“We had 25 shots. We got the ball to where we wanted to get the ball okay but when you’re just looking for that bit of quality that I believe we possess, we just never found it.
“It was a difficult night for us, a frustrating night. The longer the game went on, the more we didn’t control our emotions well enough, the anxiety sort of crept into the players and decisions they’ve not really made all season starting creeping into the game.
“If you go deep into a season like we are doing we’ve got to deal with this a lot better.
“We’ve got to reset, I’ve got to pick the right team for Saturday because there’s no real margin for error now.
“We’ve not lost three games on the spin all season, we’ve lost two twice. We’ve got to adjust that and get back on track so these last two results don’t define our season.”
Millwall boss Alex Neil: “A really good result for us. We knew coming here was going to be a tough game.
“We knew we had to get the balance right between carrying a threat and defending.
“We knew there was going to be a little bit of an onslaught at the start of the second half and we carried a real threat. Their chances were mainly through bodies.
“Sheffield United are one of the lowest teams for crossing and we’re one of the best at defending them so our strategy was to keep narrow but you need quality and I thought our strikers were excellent.”
Twitter users reacted as Chris Wilder slams the referee for failing to award Sheffield United a penalty in the 1-0 loss to Millwall…
@liam40327892: That ref hated us 
not you lot
@Stubrfc1604: I’ve got no feeling towards Sheffield utd at all but the more I see wilder interviews the more I can see he’s an absolute twat. Just comes across as a bitter old man.
@FG_utb2: He is literally the only manager in the country who says it how it is, can’t believe people aren’t a fan of his ‘mardy’ press conferences
@Dan_Griffiths92: Jokes, Millwall could of had 4 on another night, made you look very average in your own backyard
@nickfruin: Think maybe Chris is the one that wants to be the star of the show. A man that puts himself on such a pedestal that people aren’t allowed to eat a sandwich in front of him.
@SamGreaves77: What another complaint about Sam Allison as a referee. It’s almost as if he’s absolutely terrible but no give him a premier league gig
@roathboy: Never any class and I wish him no success
@Walldanzig: I never thought I’d agree with Wilder on anything but this guy is the worst ref I’ve ever seen. Watch him on corners over involves himself takes about 5 mins to get one taken.
@joshhhhhh1401: STILL rent free and they are going to go up and we are scrapping for our lives
@RocketOwl1986: Let’s face it every single football man knows this man cannot referee a game of football so fully expect to see him promoted to the prem soon.
@FG_utb2: Don’t av a clue how he still refs at this level
@Sufc_alex07: He is the worst referee out of the lot, clubs can all mutually agree he’s shite. (We never agree on anything) can the FA start employing officials from abroad or make the refs competent please 
@Jayroper9Jamie: Sam Allison is an awful referee he was insanely bad when we had him at Hillsborough other month
@pashi1967: The problem here is we need impartial refs that have absolutely no affiliation to any football teams ‘ either through themselves or family members. ideally we need refs who know nothing about football clubs or football ‘ practically impossible 
@charlieros1e: At least you didn’t have two perfectly good goals disallowed for “offside”
@JamesDCFCCrofts: Tbf he is an awful referee , every single game I’ve seen him ref he gets it wrong
@allnewswba: Not a fan of Wilder, but he’s bang on here! Shocking Referee #EFL #WBA
@followthetowen: My dislike for Sam Allison peaked with that video of him saying “helloooo” to the ball as he took it off of the plinth as he knew he was on tele. Fucking criminal stuff.
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