Sheffield United boss reveals Mason Holgate red card reaction after "harsh" 5-0 defeat to Brighton

Mason Holgate apologised to his Sheffield United teammates after his early red card proved costly in what ended up a 5-0 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion this afternoon. The on-loan Everton man initially saw yellow for his horror challenge on Kaoru Mitoma, but a quick VAR check saw it instantly upgraded to a deserved red.

United had to battle for more than 80 minutes with 10 men against one of the best teams on the Premier League with the ball. Boss Chris Wilder warned it would be a difficult afternoon before the game but it became much harder with a man light, as Simon Adingra led the scoring for the visitors with a brace.

"He has apologised to the boys, he understands it and he is an experienced pro," Wilder said afterwards. "He has got it wrong. I want us to be competitive, I want us to win tackles. We can't have a passive game.

"It is a competitive game, it is a not a non-contact game, but we have to get that right, Mason has to get that right. It is huge setback for us in the approach to the overall game.

 "I am torn. I am a competitor, and I understand that it was a very, very strong challenge and the game has moved on. Some people won't want the game to move and on and expect physical contact, excessive force or whatever you call it. 

"Winning the ball and challenging in that way is deemed not acceptable. We have got no excuses, or nowhere to hide. The referee gave it a yellow card straight away, but obviously when he went to the monitor and saw it slowed down he has somebody in his ear saying it's a red card."

It was the third home game in a row that United have conceded five goals, including another against Brighton in the FA Cup at Bramall Lane. Wilder added: "Better managers than me - and there are quite a lot of them around at the moment I should imagine - and bigger, better clubs than Sheffield United would have found it difficult to go down to 10, because of the way they play.

"The game was decided on that [red card]. I could say 100 per cent we would not have got done 5-0. I think it was a harsh scoreline. Would we have won it? I'm not sitting here saying we'd have comfortably won it but we'd have posed more of a threat going forward and had more stability at the back."

Asked if he was angry at, or sympathetic with Holgate, Wilder took a breath before replying: "Maybe a bit of both. Somewhere in between. It's a competitive sport and not a non contact one but there has to be a balance and I understand why he made that decision with the game as it is now."

Wilder declined to confirm whether Holgate would be fined for the red card, admitting that the fines system in place was at "the manager's discretion".