Scott Parker claimed Bournemouth may have fallen victim to goal-line technology failure during his side’s top-of-the-table clash with his former club Fulham.
Dominic Solanke’s stoppage-time penalty earned the Cherries what could be a crucial point in their quest for automatic promotion from the Championship.
But it was Aleksandar Mitrovic’s header to put Fulham into the lead that had Parker questioning the Goal Decision System.
Initial TV replays suggested Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers had made an outstanding save to claw the ball away before it had fully crossed the line but referee Graham Scott awarded the goal.
Baffled Parker said: “They scored a goal which looks a little bit dubious. It doesn’t look like the whole ball has crossed the line so I think that’s a little bit harsh.
“Maybe technology was faulty or the camera was not lined up properly, I don’t know.”
In a first half of few clear-cut chances it was former Bournemouth loanee Harry Wilson who came closest to scoring when his 20-yard strike forced an awkward save out of Travers.
Having sealed promotion in midweek, Fulham knew a win would all-but guarantee the league title due to their vastly superior goal difference over their hosts.
The Cottagers took the lead 11 minutes into the second half when Mitrovic towered above Nat Phillips to nod his 41st goal of the season from Wilson’s cross.
Defender Tosin Adarabioyo headed against the crossbar from two yards when he had the chance to seal the win.
Substitute Todd Cantwell lashed into the side-netting with what appeared to be Bournemouth’s last chance to rescue a point.
But the Cherries were gifted the opportunity to equalise deep into stoppage time when Adam Smith was upended by Wilson after a clever turn in the box.
Fulham manager Marco Silva was sent off in the aftermath of the penalty award but top-scorer Solanke kept his cool to fire into the bottom-right corner.
The draw left Bournemouth two points clear of third-placed Huddersfield with two games in hand and five in front of fourth-placed Nottingham Forest.
Parker said: “It was well-deserved point for sure. It was a match between two very good sides.
“In the second half I felt we took them to certain depths and really nullified their opportunities.
“In the end I thought physical prowess and endeavour got us the penalty.
“I didn’t see why Marco got sent off. It was edgy at times, it was a bit nitty gritty and I don’t think anyone would have wanted it any different.
“There wasn’t a cooler man in the stadium than Dominic Solanke.”
Fulham can now clinch the championship when they host Forest in midweek but Silva admitted they were hampered by the celebrations that followed their promotion.
Silva said: “The decision to award the penalty was a mistake from the referee. That made a big impact in the game.
“We wanted to come here to be champion and to get the three points. We did not deserve that mistake.
“For me it was tough to get sent off in that moment.
“It was not the best game to watch and both teams did not perform at their best.
“We had a different week. We got the promotion on Tuesday and as you would expect, we celebrated for a couple of days.
“As a result, we did not have the same energy levels in the last few minutes of the game.
“There were not many chances for either team and the game was finely poised.”
