Sheffield Wednesday: Owls chief bemoans ref calls as Bannan looks set to return

Owls head coach Carlos Carvalhal has reignited the row over Barry Bannan's red card call, criticising Football League officials for not giving his side more decisions.
By The Newsroom
Published 7th Apr 2016, 07:14 BST
Updated 7th Apr 2016, 08:41 BST
Carlos CarvalhalCarlos Carvalhal
Carlos Carvalhal

Influential midfielder Bannan has been forced to sit-out their last three matches following his controversial sending off at Nottingham Forest.

Wednesday appealed the decision, but the Football Association decided against overturning the call.

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What has added to Carvalhal’s frustration is that the FA have rescinded West Ham United midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate’s dismissal against Crystal Palace last Saturday. Kouyate was given his marching orders following a challenge on Dwight Gayle but is now available for their up-and-coming clash with Arsenal.

“West Ham’s appeal was considered and they were successful,” said Carvalhal. “If you compare the situation with Barry’s, I think it is similar.

“I don’t have any doubt that Barry tried to play the ball in his situation. We don’t have luck in these kind of situations.”

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He added: “There were some not easy decisions for the referees but I think they penalised our team too much in three our four consecutive games with bad decisions. But we understand that’s football. The reality is we know why we didn’t pick up more points from those four or five matches.”

Scotland international Bannan is expected to be restored to Wednesday’s starting line-up when they travel to Bristol City this weekend.

Carvalhal said: “Barry is an important player to us and everyone was a little concerned what would happen in the three games without him. We gave a strong answer, winning the three games he missed. We are happy that Barry is coming back. But our team, during the season, can win without most players.

“We are acting like a team. It is a collective game. It is not tennis. We play for each other and we have created a good atmosphere and soul.”

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