I’m not proud of my actions – Lashenko

BRISTOL Manor Farm manager Lee Lashenko has apologised and admits he cannot defend his actions towards referee Richard Lawrence in their FA Trophy defeat to Paulton Rovers at the weekend – but has no intention of resigning, writes James Piercy.

Lashenko confronted Lawrence at the conclusion of the second qualifying round tie at The Creek, incensed at having been yellow carded for dissent in the second half before being shown a red card after the final whistle.

In footage now widely shared across social media and viewed more than 120,000 times, boss Lashenko has to be repeatedly held back by his players as he angrily gestures towards the official while shouting profanities.

Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey said on Twitter: “What an absolute disgrace. Football does not need people like this involved in the game. For the good of football I hope the FA take the strongest of action possible.”

Speaking to Bristol Live, the sister website of the Daily Press, Lashenko, below – who has been in charge of Manor Farm for eight seasons – accepts he was in the wrong, but has also apportioned a degree of blame for the incident towards referee Lawrence.

“I will apologise for heated words – because that’s all it was – there wasn’t anything physical and it wouldn’t ever get to that,” Lashenko said. “I’m not proud of my rant, but that’s what came out of me at the time, then I disappeared to the changing room.

“I’m not proud, but it’s something I’ve got to live with and something I’ve got to overcome.

“I’ll look at my actions and the first person I criticise is myself and I’m going to learn from it and ensure my calmness after a game is a bit more long-term. That’s something I’ve got to work on.

“I was booked for a comment midway through the second half from an area of the ground with a lot of people, all with similar accents, and when the referee booked me he admitted, ‘You’ll have to do, Lee’.

“After the game I said to him I thought his performance was ******* terrible, and his response was, ‘I’ve got a red card in my pocket’. To say, ‘I’ve got a red card in my pocket’, I felt he was trying to be above everybody else and that provoked the reaction.”

Martin Cassidy, chief executive of Ref Support UK, has called for Lashenko to resign, but the Manor Farm boss believes he has the support of his club.