Town boss Kieran McKenna has revealed he was in the meeting with referees’ chief Howard Webb at Portman Road on Wednesday afternoon along with CEO and chairman Mark Ashton to discuss the Blues’ concerns regarding VAR and refereeing since promotion to the Premier League.
The meeting with Webb, the chief refereeing officer of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), followed a frank exchange of views in the wake of the Blues being denied a penalty during last week’s game against Leicester City when Conor Chaplin was fouled and the subsequent harsh dismissal of Kalvin Phillips for a second bookable offence.
VAR’s decision not to overturn referee Tim Robinson’s decision, with the official appearing to have been unsighted when the incident took place, was in stark contrast to situations in previous games in which the Blues had a spot-kick overruled against Everton and then one awarded against them at Brentford after the referee there initially gave a free-kick.
Asked about Webb’s visit to Suffolk, McKenna said: "I was in the meeting. I think, as has been said, it's a confidential meeting out of respect to all parties.
"I think as a club we made our position clear. I spoke last Saturday I think with clear eyes on how I've seen the incident and the comparison to the incidents that we've had in the games before that, so there's nothing really more to add on that.
"And in terms of the group, as we've come into the building this week, it's been, as always, about focus and what we can control.
"Of course, there was a big sense of injustice in the group on Saturday. That was still probably there on Monday, but we addressed it and full focus has been on what we can control and preparing as well as we can for Tottenham and not wasting any energy on anything in the past or anything that we can't control now.
"So that's where the group’s at and we're looking forward to this weekend. And in terms of the other things, as the week has gone on, it's certainly not been prominent in my mind. And we're just getting ready for Tottenham.”
Pressed on whether it was a case of highlighting a number of key incidents, McKenna added: "I spoke about that after the game on Sunday, my feelings on the incident, the comparison with the incident against Everton and incidents in other games. So those things I've spoken about publicly and I’ve nothing really to add on that.”
A PGMOL spokesperson had previously said that they wouldn’t be commenting on the discussion: "The contents of the meeting between ourselves and Ipswich Town will remain private.”