Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris has criticized the decision to send off defender Dan Ballard for a hair pull on Tolu Arokodare in their 1-1 draw with Wolves on Saturday.
The incident occurred in the first half as Ballard had a tug of Arokodare’s hair, which made the Nigerian striker go down.
The Sunderland defender was then sent off by the referee after a VAR review, becoming the second player to be sent off in recent weeks after Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez also received a sending off for the same offence on Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Speaking after the match, Le Bris expressed disappointment over the incident which put his side at a disadvantage.
“I understand the rule and the referee has to execute it. But it is hard to understand in that condition, especially because it was intentionally”, Le Bris said.
“There was no violent conduct. I think it’s important for the referees and the Premier League to be clear with the rule because in this case, you can’t play a duel in case you accidentally grab something.”
Sunderland dropped points in the Premier League once again which left them in the bottom half as their European chances suffered a major blow.
Nordi Mukiele opened the scoring in the 17th minute, before Ballard was dismissed seven minutes later.
Wolves made their man advantage count with the equalizer through Santiago Bueno in the 54th minute, as the game went on to finish 1-1.
“I hope we will have a conversation with the referees to adjust this rule and make it better”, Le Bris added.
“When the forward has long hair, it’s hard. It’s important to have this conversation and make the rule clearer.”
Sunderland will hope to return to winning ways in their next outing when they face Manchester United next weekend.
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