'We're getting points despite the referees and the officials' - Shrewsbury Town boss Gavin Cowan
Kian McMahon-Brown was sent off during Shrewsbury Town’s 3-3 draw at Rotherham United.
Gavin Cowan bemoaned the standard of officiating in League Two after a controversial afternoon at Rotherham ended in a 3-3 draw for his side.
Shrewsbury loanee Kian McMahon-Brown was controversially sent off for pushing Joe Rafferty in the chest late on in Salop’s clash in South Yorkshire.
The entertaining encounter ended all square after Rotherham came back to secure a point with 14 minutes remaining.
Both sides finished with ten men, and the Shrews boss felt his team were unfortunate with a number of decisions.
He said: “I'd spoken to the referee at half-time and just said, look, the crowd here are really buoyant, to say the least.
“It's a big football club at this level and I just asked him to be strong. I didn't want any preferential treatment, of course, but I just asked him not to cave in to what it was.
“You don't need to level it up. The tackle from them warranted a sending off and you don't need to do anything along those lines. And then Boyley (Will Boyle) wins a perfectly clear header. He gives a free-kick, they then move the ball five yards forward and listen, we've got to defend the free-kick. That's where we've got to be better and we pride ourselves on them set pieces.
“But again, the referee right in front of us, he's five yards away from the incident.
“Boyley heads the ball into the back of their lad's head and he gives a free-kick. We're getting points despite the referees and the officials now, and that's what's really disappointing. We predicted it, and then obviously you're so disappointed to be 3-3 with him.
“A sending-off for Kian is again, we've looked at it back, and I'm really hoping that someone steps in because the tackle on him is a sending off.
“He pushes him on the midriff almost to protect himself, to keep him away. And then the lad falls on the floor, they make a big deal of it.”
Shrews are back in Shropshire next week as they taken on former manager Gareth Ainsworth at the Croud Meadow.
Comment Guidelines
Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.