Ross not seeing red but unsure about appealing

DEFENSIVE WOES MOUNT BUT WAT A BOOST FROM DUNC AS SUNDERLAND ENTER THE BUSY FESTIVE PERIOD

Jack Ross didn’t believe Glenn Loovens should have seen red in the 3-1 defeat to Portsmouth but wanted to clarify the double jeopardy wording before deciding whether to appeal.

The experienced centre-back was shown a straight red two minutes into the second half for fouling Oli Hawkins inside the area.

Gareth Evans scored the resulting spot-kick, league leaders Pompey going on to win and extend their lead over Sunderland by eight points.

Two years ago, changes to the rules were made so that a player who committed a foul to deny a goalscoring opportunity wouldn’t necessarily automatically see red.

Players that commit accidental fouls that deny a goalscoring chance should be cautioned instead but deliberate fouls would still incur a red card - those include holding, pulling or pushing, not playing the ball, serious foul play, violent conduct or deliberate handball in order to deny a goalscoring opportunity.

Ross agreed it was a penalty but argued that Loovens had not deliberately tried to foul Hawkins.

The Scot was also aggrieved that Lee Brown hadn’t seen red for a foul on George Honeyman in the first half.

Ross said: “The red card I would argue isn’t a red, under the new guidelines. There is no genuine attempt to win the ball but there was no attempt to bring him down. It is a coming together. It is a penalty kick.

“The incident first half, have we been punished for similar incidents? Yes we have, simple as that.”

Pressed on whether he would appeal, Ross said: “I don’t know, I need to clarify the wording of the rules, as that can determine how it is looked upon.

“I know the rules have changed to avoid that double jeopardy. To be honest at the time I couldn’t see clearly so thought he pulled him back. Watching it again, Hawkins does well to come across him, but the legs catch each other. My understanding is that isn’t a red.”