Michael O’Neill reacts to controversial moment in Stoke City defeat at Bournemouth

Stoke City boss Michael O’Neill was furious with referee Tim Robinson after he sent Morgan Fox off in the Potters 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth yesterday.

The defender was harshly dismissed for apparently catching Phil Billing on his follow through after winning a tackle initially.

With Stoke winning 1-0 at the time, the red card had a significant impact, as the visitors were unable to stand firm until full-time, as two late goals for the Cherries condemned O’Neill’s men to defeat.

Therefore, the red card was undoubtedly the turning point, and O’Neill couldn’t hide his anger at the decision when speaking to Stoke-On-Trent Live.

“We were the better team until the red card and were ahead in the game. But it’s never a red card – or if it is, then Zemura’s tackle on Jacob Brown is is red card. They’re exactly the same challenge. One’s a red card and one’s a throw-in. How do you work that out?”

The loss means the Staffordshire outfit have now failed to win in four as they languish in 15th position in the Championship table.

The verdict

You can understand why O’Neill was livid with the decision to send Fox off as it was very harsh, and that anger was compounded with the lack of consistency for th rest of the game.

So, you have to have sympathy for the Northern Irishman and there’s no doubt that it played a major role in Stoke falling to defeat.

Unfortunately, these things happen in football though and it’s down to O’Neill to ensure all of this is forgotten for the game against Blackpool next week.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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