Swindon Town boss Ben Garner has called on referees to do more after he believes his midfielder Jonny Williams was ‘targeted’ by Bristol Rovers in last weekend’s 1-1 draw.
Garner feels his side were given a hard job due to repeated fouls from Joey Barton’s side. Rovers received six yellow cards during the game in which Ellis Iandolo, the only person to be booked for Swindon, equalised in the 35th minute to ensure the points were shared.
According to Bristol Live, Garner reflected on the fouls saying: “I thought there were a few bad tackles in the game.
“I wouldn’t like to comment properly without seeing anything back, but that number of yellow cards in the game is a lot, and I think there was a lot of consistent fouling.
Jonny Williams was targeted. He was fouled time and time again, and I would like to see officials being stronger with that.”
Interestingly when the game finished, both sides had committed 13 fouls but Garner believes Barton’s side came with the intention of using physical tactics and that the officials could’ve done more to ensure the game flowed. He said: “Hopefully, the officials will look at themselves and say ‘How do we allow the game to flow more and allow teams that want to play football to be given the opportunity to do so’?
“I’m not saying teams can’t press us or get after us, of course they can, but it’s just the repeated fouls and disruption of the game. That’s what I’d like to see taken out.”
The Verdict:
Despite having an equal number of fouls committed in this game, Barton’s side receiving six yellow cards in one game does suggest that the fouls from their side were particularly heavy so you can see why Garner may be frustrated by this.
Furthermore, if he feels his midfielder Jonny Williams
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