Mike Jones has had better days. He got a couple of crucial decisions wrong in the FA Cup tie between Crawley Town and Stoke on Sunday, decisions that dealt a serious blow to Crawley's giant-killing hopes.
Although Tony Pulis sounded off, the decision to send off Rory Delap for a high challenge on a Crawley player wasn't too controversial, especially in the current climate where players have been warned about their challenges and about dangerous ones in particular. Pulis claimed the fourth official had given the decision to send off Delap, an unlikely allegation,
No, it was the decisions NOT to award Crawley a penalty when Ryan Shawcross clearly pushed a Crawley attacker in the penalty area and then to award a penalty to Stoke when Shawcross, aware he was facing away from the goal and not going to get the ball, shoved himself at a defender and fell over.
And then, to rub salt into the Crawley wounds, a blatant Stoke handball on the goalline should have been rewarded with a penalty and a red card. Neither was given.
It's difficult to have too much sympathy for Crawley. Their manager Steve Evans is not the most sympathetic character and they play a hard, take no prisoners type of football. Their cash has brought them success though, and they put up a strong fight against Stoke.
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