Wolves boss Gary O'Neil on his lessons learned from FA ban

Having been on the wrong end of several contentious VAR decisions this season, it boiled over for O’Neil in the aftermath of the West Ham game when Max Kilman’s late equaliser was chalked off.

Offside was given against Tawanda Chirewa, who the officials judged was impeding goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

O’Neil was charged by the FA for acting in an ‘improper and/or threatening’ manner towards the officials and after admitting the charge, he received an £8,000 fine and a one-match touchline ban, which he served at the weekend against champions Manchester City.

“It’s the first time I’ve had to take a game not from the touchline,” O’Neil said. “It’s not something I’m planning to experience too often, so hopefully it’s my first and last charge and ban.

“It was my first hearing and a discussion around what happened and what was meant when certain things were said.

“The punishment is fair and I’ve learned my lesson.

“I spoke to the guys at the hearing about how I’ve been since that incident against West Ham, because we’ve had other incidents since then that have had quite a lot of media coverage. There was no reaction from me.

“I’m keen to get my point across to officials on what I think is correct and not correct, but I need to make sure I always do it in the right way.

“I overstepped the mark for the West Ham game slightly, which is why I received the one-game ban. I accept that and move on.”

Speaking to the media after the game on April 6, O’Neil admitted a conversation with referee Tony Harrington did not go to plan.

He said: “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to control my emotion and my feeling well enough to receive an explanation (from the referee).

“I was in with the referee but it didn’t go too well.

“I went in to see him and I asked him some questions. He didn’t like how they were asked, so he thought it was best we didn’t discuss it.”