VIDEO: Referee cost Sheffield Wednesday the game says Carlos Carvalhal after defeat to Derby County

The Owls lost 2-0 to Steve McClaren's side after goals in each half from Cyrus Christie and Alex Pearce but an incident in the seventh minute provided the biggest talking point of the game.

Adam Reach's shot from close range appeared to be blocked by the arm of Rams defender Richard Keogh but to the clear dismay of Carvalhal and his bench, referee James Linington didn't point to the spot.

No penalty and no red card was followed up shortly after by Derby's opening goal as Wednesday lost the early momentum they had built up. And Carvalhal maintains it was a huge factor in his side's defeat.

"It's a game where after six minutes and 45 seconds there was an unbelievable decision," he said. "I don't understand it. It was a red card and a clear penalty. You can see the image.

"The referee had a good view. There are four referees on the pitch and the decision was completely the opposite. At that moment, we were playing well and creating chances. We probably could have scored. It would have made a massive difference. The decision of the referee had a big impact on the final score."

Carvalhal added: "If we had taken 1-0 at that moment, we were playing very and creating chances. It would have been a big plus to us if they had gone down to 10 men and we had scored the penalty. Even if we hadn't scored the penalty, we would have been playing against 10 players."