Hull City were beaten 2-1 at Sheffield United with a controversial penalty being the major talking point
SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – APRIL 11: Oliver McBurnie of Hull City is shown a yellow card by referee John Brooks during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United and Hull City at Bramall Lane on April 11, 2026 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Mark Sutton/Getty Images)
Hull City striker Oli McBurnie has revealed what the referee said to him after signalling for what was a hugely controversial penalty.
McBurnie scored his first goal in nine games on Saturday afternoon and that gave City a lead over Sheffield United which they held onto for most of the contest. With the Blades being restricted to very few chances, Sergej Jakirovic’s side looked comfortable as they approached the final 15 minutes of the game, too.
However, things changed when John Lundstram was sent for an early shower for a second bookable offence and just a few minutes later, the Tigers were protesting referee John Brooks’ penalty call.
As a Blades corner came in, a number of players from both sides hit the deck inside the box. The referee blew his whistle and rather than signalling for a retake or for a free-kick to the visitors, he pointed to the spot.
It was a decision that shocked everyone of a black and amber persuasion, especially as it was unclear which player the referee had penalised. And, despite asking the match official for an explanation, Oli McBurnie admitted after the game that he was still none the wiser on who had committed the foul.
“We’ve just watched it back a couple of times and we’re still struggling to understand who he’s given it on,” the forward said after the game. “I asked the referee in the game who he gave it on and he said, ‘I don’t know, go away’.
“It’s wild to me that you can give a penalty and not know who he’s given it on.
“As a referee, you need to have an understanding of the game and the way it’s played and I think he lacked that if I’m brutally honest. He completely changed the momentum of the game and that’s killed us.”
Asked if anything was said before the corner, McBurnie said: “No, just the same as what every corner would be.
“If you go through all the other corners in the game, they’ll be just the same. The lads were almost arguing in the dressing room afterwards that it should have been a foul the other way and then he’s blown for a penalty.
“I think you’d struggle to find something there that you don’t find in every Championship game 10 times over. That’s the feeling of unjust for us.”
With four games to go in the Championship play-off race, the Tigers are still right in the mix. They sit four points above seventh-placed Wrexham at the time of writing, who take on Birmingham City this afternoon, and they host Birmingham City next, with Leicester City, Charlton Athletic and Norwich City still to play.
“We’ll just dust ourselves down and go again, there’s nothing we can do to change it now,” McBurnie said. “It’s disappointing on the day, I feel like we deserved something from the game, but we go again and put it behind us.”
He added: “It’s that perspective and not resting on your laurels and thinking, ‘we’ve done well to get in this position so let’s be happy with that’.
“We had this goal in our mind within our dressing room the whole season and now we’ve put ourselves in that position, it would be silly not to keep striving to get to where we want to be.
“At the same time, we’re in a great position, we’ve put ourselves in a great position and no one has given us that, we’ve gone out and took it. With four games to go, let’s just go out and do what we’ve done for the whole season and get ourselves to where we need to be.”