Blackburn Rovers midfielder Hope Akpan was sent off for pushing referee Scott Duncan when his late goal in a 2-1 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday was disallowed.
Blackburn had not been credited with a goal earlier in the game when Marvin Emnes’ strike bounced down off the crossbar and was deemed to have not crossed the line, and the relegation battlers were denied an equaliser when Akpan was penalised for handball.
Akpan was shown a straight red card when he raised his hands to the referee, drawing parallels with a famous incident when Wednesday striker Paolo Di Canio pushed referee Paul Alcock over in 1998.
Blackburn boss Owen Coyle played down the incident after the match, saying: “I think there was a coming together.
“I don’t think that Hope has pushed the referee as such, but his hands were up and if there is contact it leaves it open to what the referee’s interpretation was — and he deemed it to be a red card.
“That’s probably rubbed salt into the wounds.”
Coyle expressed his frustration with the officials after the defeat, which leaves his side second bottom in the Championship table, two points from safety.
“We don’t control what decisions are given and the stuff that went against Blackburn Rovers tonight was beyond belief,” he said.“Sometimes you can take an odd decision here and there, but for three or four huge decisions to be given against the football club I thought was beyond belief.”
Coyle argued that both of the disallowed goals should have been awarded and, on Emnes’ effort, added: “It is not a question — the ball is clearly over the line. I knew in real time and I have seen it back. The ball is clearly over the line.
“The linesman that has not seen how clearly that is over the line has then deemed — when [Wednesday’s] Glenn Loovens has headed the ball off Hope Akpan’s chest — he has deemed that to be a handball.
“We have scored three good goals tonight, but that has resulted in only one being awarded.”
Blackburn also saw striker Sam Gallagher stretchered off after he was caught by Sam Hutchinson, who was booked.
Coyle said the disallowed goals “followed on from the fact that young Sam Gallagher is sat in there with 12 stitches across a deep gash on his knee that was punished with a yellow card.
“It is hard to take because of how well the players played tonight and how much the players put into the game.
“To come to Sheffield Wednesday, who have invested absolute fortunes in their team, anybody there tonight I would suggest would have preferred Blackburn Rovers as the better team.”
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