Leicester in the dock over stormy scenes

ENGLAND’S Football Association (FA) will study referee Craig Pawson’s report before determining whether to take punitive action against Leicester City following their eventful 2-2 draw at Stoke City.

The flashpoint of Saturday’s Premier League game saw Leicester striker Jamie Vardy dismissed in the 28th minute by Pawson for a two-footed challenge on Stoke forward Mame Biram Diouf.

Pawson was criticised for not dismissing Manchester United’s Marcos Rojo for a similar foul against Crystal Palace in mid-week and he was confronted by Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri at half time.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to speak about this. Every match is different,” Ranieri said when asked about Pawson’s performance in the wake of his failure to dismiss Rojo.

“Every decision could be different. We must respect the referee every time.”

In the final seven minutes of the half, Stoke scored twice and Pawson booked five Leicester players.

It prompted stormy scenes at half time, when Ranieri and his players confronted the official, who, in turn, appeared to have objects thrown at him by visiting supporters as he left the field.

Asked what he had said to Pawson, the usually mild-mannered Ranieri replied: “I said nothing to him at half time. I just wanted to show to our fans, to my players that I was there. There was nothing wrong.”

For their total of six bookings, in addition to Vardy’s red card, Leicester can expect an automatic FA fine, triggered when a team collects six or more cautions.

But Pawson’s report will be studied closely by the authorities this week before they decide whether further action is warranted.

Ranieri was pulled away from a growing melee around Pawson at half time by his goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel, and then appeared to point provocatively at the official as he left the field.

He insisted, however, that there was no sinister intent.

“No, I was pointing to the pitch,” he said. “I was saying [to the supporters], ‘Come on, it’s important, support us on the pitch.’ ”

Concerning Vardy’s sending off, Ranieri pleaded his player’s case and claimed that a challenge with Glen Johnson, immediately prior to his foul on Diouf, was a contributory factor.

Stoke manager Mark Hughes said: “I’ve seen the incident and it looked to me like he [Vardy] had two straight legs, he was off the ground and out of control.

“I can understand, there have been a couple of incidents where players have done similar and got away with a yellow card. They were deemed to be wrong, so this time the referee got it right.”