Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner says referee Sam Barrott is a ‘great man’ after admitting he made a mistake in disallowing Eberechi Eze’s free-kick against Brentford

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner insisted referee Sam Barrott was a “great person” after the official admitted he had made a mistake by blowing the whistle for a foul before Eberechi Eze had converted a free-kick.

Eze thought he had put Palace ahead in the first half when his long-range shot surprised Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken at the near post.

But Barrott blew his whistle for a foul in the penalty area before the ball even hit the net, with the referee ruling that Will Hughes had pushed defender Nathan Collins to the ground.

Replays showed minimal, if any, contact from Hughes. There was a brief VAR check, but as Barrott had blown his whistle before the ball had crossed the line, it was not possible to overturn the decision.

Eze said after the match that Barrott had told him he had made a mistake by blowing his whistle too early and Glasner praised the referee for his fairness.

Oliver Glasner (pictured) says referee Sam Barrott is a great person after the referee apologised for his mistake

Barrott (pictured) admitted he made a mistake in disallowing Eberechi Eze’s free-kick for Crystal Palace

Barrott felt Crystal Palace’s Will Hughes had brought down Brentford’s Nathan Collins

Eze therefore thought he had found the net for Palace, but his attempt was disallowed.

“It shows he has a good character and he’s a good guy,” Glasner said. “We can always find excuses. It’s part of the game to make mistakes. I haven’t seen anyone who didn’t make mistakes. I made mistakes today. It shows he’s a great guy to say ‘yes, I made a mistake,’ but that doesn’t change things.

‘Of course everyone was surprised that the referee blew his whistle so early, but I can’t complain because the decision has been made.

‘We thought it was a goal, but the rules are: if the ball is in play and the referee blows the whistle, the goal doesn’t count. It is what it is. We don’t get this goal back for a draw.

‘I think in the first half we had many other situations where we could have taken the lead, but we didn’t because we were a bit sloppy. We scored, but it was offside. We could have avoided the cross for their goal and defended better. I’m confident that we’ll get into these games if we get into our rhythm.’

Glasner stated that there is no update on Marc Guehi’s future due to Newcastle’s interest

Glasner added that there was no update on the future of Marc Guehi. The defender, who has been the subject of four rejected bids from Newcastle, started and captained Palace on Sunday.

“Everyone can see that he is completely focused on Crystal Palace and today’s game. I expected that from Marc, because he has been doing it all week. The last two days we have not talked about transfers, because we are focused on the game, so no news. He cannot be at his top level after 10 days of training and back from the European Championship, but he did very well today.”