Chris Foy has had his say on the decision to send Di’Shon Bernard off in Sheffield Wednesday’s win over Bristol City.
Sheffield Wednesday’s win at the weekend was met with plenty of celebrations as they crept within three points of safety in the Championship table.
However, despite the victory, there was one blatant frustration after Di’Shon Bernard was dismissed in the late stages of the game.
The defender was shown a yellow card on the half hour mark, just minutes after Bristol City bagged their equaliser at Hillsborough.
The afternoon then looked set to end on a high before Bernard went in for a reckless challenge on a Robins player on the attack. Referee Thomas Kirk let the play continue as the visitors looked to equalise for a second time, before bringing it back and sending Bernard off.
Thankfully, Sheffield Wednesday were still able to claim all three points, but they will now be without the 23-year-old for their trip to Rotherham United.
There was very little debate over whether Bernard should have been shown a second yellow, but former Premier League referee Chris Foy has examined the decision and has explained what Kirk actually did wrong.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Foy said: “The Bristol City No 15 is recklessly challenged by Sheffield Wednesday No 17, with the ball breaking to another attacking player.
“The referee plays a good advantage but the next time the No 17 becomes involved – when he’s seen heading the ball while challenging his opponent – is the moment the referee should have stopped play and sent him from the field of play for a second caution.
“The laws of the game state that ‘the referee must send off the player when the ball is next out of play, but if the player plays the ball or challenges/ interferes with an opponent, the referee will stop play and restart with an indirect free kick, unless the player committed a more serious offence’.
“Following a further period of time elapsing, the referee – in conjunction with the officiating team – does ultimately show the second caution with the final outcome being correct, however this should have been shown at an earlier time.”
Owls behaving badly
Sheffield Wednesday have played really well in recent weeks, but the fact they have now picked up two red cards in successive games will be extremely frustrating for Danny Rohl.
Both dismissals have come from winning positions too – something that should be very easily avoidable but instead puts them in a much trickier situation than it needs to be.
Thankfully, the return of Dominic Iorfa from injury means that he is likely to slot into Bernard’s position, but it is a very big game for the centre-back to be missing out on.
Sheffield Wednesday are now top of the Championship fair play table, having picked up the most red cards this season (5) and also the joint-fourth most yellows (78).