Salford City manager Karl Robinson criticised referee Darren Drysdale and his assistants after Hakeeb Adelakun’s early red card saw his side slump to a heavy 4-0 defeat against Chesterfield.
The game was finely poised at 0-0 when Adelakun was dismissed in the 24th minute following an off-the-ball incident with Jack Sparkes. The referee consulted his assistant before showing the red card, a decision that Robinson believes altered the course of the match.
‘The red card changed the game’ – Robinson
Salford had made a bright start and created early opportunities, but the sending-off left them on the back foot. Robinson felt his side were the better team before the decision but admitted they struggled to cope with the numerical disadvantage.
“I felt at 11 v 11 we were the better team, I thought we had two or three opportunities that we never took. The sending off changed the game. I thought even when we went down to 10 men we looked really good, I thought we had some really good opportunities.”
Adelakun’s dismissal came after Sparkes went down off the ball, prompting the assistant referee to advise Drysdale to brandish a red card. Robinson was left frustrated by the decision, questioning its severity.
“The lad (Sparkes) has stamped on Haks, on his toe, and Haks has just swiped at his lower legs. You can’t knock the opposition’s player, he went down really well and managed to get the decision that they wanted. I can’t grumble at the way they acted.
“I can see why he thinks he has actually kicked him and lashed out which would be borderline, for me, a yellow card. But the way it goes against us, it was always going to be a red.”
Robinson takes aim at assistant referee
The Salford manager’s frustration extended beyond the red card decision, as he openly criticised the officiating throughout the match.
“I don’t trust the assistant referee today, his performance was so far off, it was unacceptable. There were two offside decisions in the first half which you must have seen our bench go crazy at.
“So how can I trust him to get the big decisions right if he can’t get the easy ones?”
Chesterfield capitalised on Salford’s misfortune, with Liam Mandeville scoring twice – his first goals of the season – while Bim Pepple and Armando Dobra also found the net.
Writer’s view
Salford’s defeat leaves them with plenty to reflect on, but while Robinson was critical of the officials, his side’s inability to convert chances remains a key issue. Even before the red card, they failed to capitalise on promising openings, something that has been a problem all season.
