Aston Villa manager Dean Smith explained why he was sent off for protesting Man City’s breakthrough goal in a 2-0 loss at Villa Park on Wednesday, and he thinks he was treated as poorly as the game itself.
The game was scoreless in the 79th minute when City’s Bernardo Silva headed a long ball to Villa center back Tyrone Mings.
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Rodri was late retreating from City’s most recent spell of possession and 15 yards offside when Silva attempted his long clearance. Mings trapped the ball and took a touch to his right and by that point Rodri was in the picture to take the ball and begin the play that led to Silva’s goal and Smith’s sending-off.
“I said to David Coote, ‘Have you got juggling balls for Christmas?’ and he came over and gave me a yellow card,” Smith said. “He said he was giving the laws of the game and I said maybe you should’ve done it earlier in the game and he upgraded me to red. I think he’s treating me different than other managers. I don’t see any other managers being sent off for that.”
So calling a ref a clown isn’t great but that does seem a little ridiculous if that’s the sole reason for the sending off. That seems doubtful.
But Smith wasn’t simply unhappy with the non-offside call, he didn’t like the penalty given when a City cross from close range struck Matty Cash on a raised hand.
“Are we just going to leave players behind the line all the time? It was farcical,” he said. “Let’s be honest. He was 10 yards offside and he comes back. He’s taken advantage of an offside position to tackle our players. It’s a pathetic law, pathetic decision in my view. … For the second goal, a header from a yard out that has hit his arm. That’s not handball. Ridiculous.”
Villa remains 11th with 26 points, but every team in front of them has played at least one more match and some have played as many as three more. The Villans get Newcastle next.
