Brady 'hopes referees are learning' for the sake of player safety after controversial week

Cobblers boss Jon Brady wants referees to take more accountability for their mistakes so standards improve after another controversial week for the men in the middle.

Brady has grown increasingly frustrated by the performances of officials this season and it all came to a head during Saturday’s ill-tempered affair against Bradford City at Valley Parade.

Referee Carl Boyeson failed to spot three instances of dangerous play by home players as Yann Songo’o, Alex Gilliead and Finn Cousin-Dawson all escaped serious punishment.

Even against Oldham at Sixfields on Tuesday, Harrison McGahey appeared to elbow Danny Rose after the full-time whistle but the Latics defender received only a caution from Brett Huxtable.

Brady believes the officials need to be honest enough to front up and accept their mistakes so they can improve for the sake of player safety.

He said: “I hope the referees are learning because first and foremost it’s a safety issue for players on the pitch - that’s the upmost concern for any manager and any medical staff.

“There can’t be dangerous play but there was a fair bit of that going on at the weekend.

“I don’t have the time or the effort to worry about it too much at the moment because we have games coming thick and fast and my concentration is on ourselves, but you do hope they review themselves.

“We review our performances every week and I hope they do the same to get better."

The standard of officiating has come under the microscope across the country at all levels this season.

Against Leyton Orient on Saturday, EFL rookie Andrew Kitchen will be in the middle.

“It all depends on what they see through their lens on those particular incidents but what they are being told by their bosses is also important," added Brady.

"A lot like we do, they coach the referees and the heads come round and they have assessors at games.

“They will run through games and review it with the assessor through the week and there’s a points system in place and they have their own learnings.

“I have good friends who referee in the Championship and in League One week in, week out and I have talked to them about it.

“They coach themselves and they learn themselves but, again, you just hope they are picking up the key points and are being helped with that by their bosses.

“But we can’t go into that anymore because we need to focus and and get a grip on ourselves.”