Referee Andre Marriner comes under fire for controversial disallowed goal in play-offs

The Championship play-off final is often described as the richest game in football.

That moniker is especially accurate this season, with an increased Premier League purse awaiting whichever team joins Burnley and Middlesbrough in the top flight. That means referees will be under the microscope more than usual, and Andre Marriner felt the brunt of the tension after disallowing a goal from Sheffield Wednesday in their play-off semi-final against Brighton & Hove Albion. https://twitter.com/Murbroski/status/731202802127605762 https://twitter.com/markstani1/status/731201897303031808 Fernando Forestieri thought he had given the hosts a first-half lead, only for Marriner and his assistants to take a very long time to rule out the strike. Naturally, fans were none too happy with the ruling, and the officials were booed off at half-time despite Ross Wallace giving Wednesday a half-time lead. https://twitter.com/YICETOR/status/731206402321072128 https://twitter.com/dreamtime1788/status/731205156151410688

But it wasn't all criticism

https://twitter.com/AlanBiggs1/status/731204301260005376 https://twitter.com/Higginbotham05/status/731202154661355520 https://twitter.com/malc_b25/status/731199060196098048

And some thought the amount of time taken was bizarre at best

https://twitter.com/JohnBennettBBC/status/731199651219701765

Eventually, and perhaps inevitably, someone suggested a wider conspiracy.

https://twitter.com/glyn1jones/status/731201389930647552