Laudrup fury as ref hands a point to Stoke

MARK HUGHES’ grin said it all — the Stoke manager knows he got out of trouble. Swansea boss Michael Laudrup, on the other hand, might have landed himself in it.

The man the Danes call ‘ The Diplomat’ could not help himself when asked to di s cuss t he stoppage-time penalty that gave Stoke City a draw last night.

Swansea had been edging towards a 3-2 win at the end of a remarkable game when Wayne Routledge’s hand appeared to make contact with Steven Nzonzi’s header.

Referee Robert Madley gave a soft penalty, Charlie Adam scored it and Laudrup could not hold his tongue. ‘There were seven Stoke players in the box and no- one asked for a penalty,’ said Laudrup. ‘ Only one man thought it was a handball — the referee.

‘ They are not allowed to say anything and I have to be careful because, if I say something, I might get a fine or a sanction. It would be nice if the referee said, “Sorry it was a mistake”. It was a very bad decision, unfortunately. I don’t know if I can even talk about him. I don’t have £10,000 just to waste for (talking about) that.’

That theory might now be tested by the FA, even if Hughes admitted he could ‘understand to a certain extent why S wans e a felt aggrieved’.

Hughes himself had grounds to feel something similar. Letting a two-goal half-time lead slip is not ideal, particularly when you have failed to win in the league since late August.

That’s a run of eight games, though a modicum of consideration should be given to the style changes he is trying to implement.

Hughes’ predecessor Tony Pulis would have loved the first of Stoke’s goals, which came after Ryan Shawcross punted the ball 60 yards upfield.

Peter Crouch got a flick, left back Ben Davies slipped and Jon Walters was able to run clear and beat Gerhard Tremmel in the Swansea goal.

The second was delightful. Steven I r el and, Crouch and Nzonzi exchanged quick passes before the ball reached Walters on the right. He then fed Crouch, who put Ireland clear to score.

For Swansea, this was the sort of inconsistent performance that has become all too common.

‘In several games we have not given away a lot but have been severely punished,’ said Laudrup.

Thankfully for him, Wilfried Bony is moving through the gears following his £12million move from Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem.

The Ivory Coast forward got Swansea back into the game with a close-range header after 56 minutes and added what looked like the winner with a left-footed shot four minutes from time. Sandwiched between Bony’s goals, substitute Nathan Dyer’s volley had pulled Swansea level.

Then the penalty, bedlam and a result both sides could have done without. Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic left the pitch gesturing at Swansea’s fans and they swore back. Laudrup had his say — but so, too, might the FA.