Rival boss is banned but some sympathy offered by Maamria

PLYMOUTH Argyle manager Steven Schumacher has been handed a one-match touchline ban by the FA and fined £1,000 for comments he made to referee Martin Walters after the 2-2 draw against Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium last week.

The Brewers equalised through Adrian Mariappa with almost the last kick and Schumacher felt his side should have had a free kick after Mickel Miller and Tom Hamer clashed heads.

Instead, an uncontested drop ball went Burton’s way, leading to the goal and to the Argyle boss confronting the referee in the tunnel after the game.

Schumacher also annoyed Burton supporters with a dig in his after-match interview in which he said “Burton don’t play any nice football” among other comments.

Brewers boss Dino Maamria, however, was happy to cut his rival boss some slack when asked about the incident.

“He didn’t say that to us. We play more football than we used to, is what he said to me in the office,” said Maamria.

“Sometimes, when you concede a goal to the last kick of the game, you take it a bit personally.

“I can only say what he said to me after the game and our stats speak for themselves.

“We stood toe to toe with them, totally dominated the first half and I thought a draw was a fair result because they had a good spell in the second half.

“I’ll take it as a compliment. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be pretty – Tuesday (against Tranmere Rovers) wasn’t pretty – but you have to get the results you need and that’s the progression of this team.

“We don’t have to play brilliantly all the time to get a result but we have to find different ways to win games.

“And our second goal against Plymouth, when we won four headers in their box, took grit, determination and belief. That speaks for itself.”