Sheffield United set to receive a call from the head of referees amid claims John Egan should not have been suspended for Yorkshire derby against Leeds

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder is expecting a call from Mike Riley, the head of the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOB) after concerns were expressed at Premier League level about the red card John Egan received during last week’s game against Aston Villa.
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But The Star understands that many influential figures within the game have reservations about the decision to send the Republic of Ireland international off, prompting them to arrange a discussion between United and the PGMOB - where many of its members are also thought to be seeking clarification.

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Although the development will be welcomed by Wilder, who criticised Graham Scott’s interpretation of events following a match Villa went on to win 1-0, any solace he takes will be tempered by the fact the communique from the PL came after the deadline for appeal Egan’s ban expired.

“I spoke about an occasion when I was in charge at Oxford,” Wilder, who spent six years at the Kassam Stadium before taking charge of United, told journalists during his pre-match media briefing on Friday. “We’d had a lad go and in the room discussing it there was myself and also Alan Hodgkinson, who played for Sheffield United, England and worked with Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Andy Melville who played for his country and Mickey Lewis who played hundreds of Championship games. They all thought we’d win an appeal and it got turned down. So since then, I think you can understand why my thoughts about appealing are minimal. So no, we didn’t appeal it (Egan’s red card) even though we thought it was the wrong decision at the time and still do.”

Circumstances surrounding the penalty United were awarded against Villa while the score remained deadlocked are also set to be discussed during Wilder’s summit with Riley, after John Lundstram, whose effort was subsequently saved was forced to wait for nearly two minutes until taking the spot-kick.

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