Bristol City chief's comments highlight hypocrisy amid optimistic...

Bristol City have optimistically appealed the red card shown to Rob Dickie in Thursday night’s 3-0 play-off defeat to

Sheffield United – despite one of their top figures admitting that they’d want exactly the same punishment in the

opposite scenario. Dickie was dismissed after cynically pulling back United striker Kieffer Moore as he prepared to

shoot on goal.

Rob Dickie’s optimistic appeal for a game against Sheffield United is undermined by the duplicity of the Bristol City

manager’s comments.

Rob Dickie’s red card from Thursday night’s 3-0 play-off loss to Sheffield United has been appealed by Bristol City,

despite the fact that one of their key players acknowledged that they would prefer the exact same punishment in the

opposite circumstance. Dickie brutally pulled United striker Kieffer Moore back just as he was ready to fire, which

resulted in his dismissal.

At best, City’s appeal appears hopeful as they attempt to overcome a three-goal deficit at Bramall Lane on Monday

night. If they are unable to have referee Oliver Langford’s decision overturned, they will be without the defender.

Over the weekend, former FIFA referee Keith Hackett supported Langford’s decision as the right one, and it’s likely

that the FA will agree with it as well.

“We will be appealing the Rob Dickie red card, and we’ll need a pretty quick answer to that if he’s going to play on

Monday,” Robins chief operating officer Tom Rawcliffe stated on the 3 Peaps podcast following the team’s loss at

Ashton Gate. “We’ll use every effort to reverse that.

Since there are usually two schools for that, we might not make it, but if at all possible, we would prefer to have him

ready on Monday. It’s harsh no matter how we frame it, isn’t it? The sending off is now the main topic of our

conversation, and we’ve put a lot of effort into getting there this season.

“We knew we had to enter with ten men, but we’re going to appeal it. The referee’s decision on the pitch is final.”

Then having to compete against a side that has a strong squad and is well-backed is very painful. Up until that point,

I believed we were playing the game well.

“But if any time just before half-time we concede a goal, or any team concedes a goal, it absolutely changes your team

talk. Not only have we had to lose a goal from the resulting penalty which they scored, but we’ve then got to

reorganise in that 15-minute period. That’s a lot of work to do against a team who are very strong and very well

organised themselves.”

After acknowledging that his team would have preferred a red card if the incident had occurred at the other end of

the pitch, Rawcliffe essentially undermined his team’s decision to appeal. “I could see the penalty coming in real

time,” Rawcliffe continued.

“With the double jeopardy rule, I wasn’t really convinced about the red card. However, doesn’t Rob get a touch on

the ball? He has therefore tried to play the ball. We are obviously biassed. If it were down the other end of the pitch, I

believe we would want a red card, but that isn’t what we wanted to discuss today.

Sportupdates