Blackburn Rovers head coach Valerien Ismael unleashed a furious attack on official Oliver Langford and Championship officials in general following the 1-1 draw with the Blues at Ewood Park.
The Frenchman, who had been angered by the EFL’s decision to restage the fixture following its abandonment in September with his side 1-0 in front against 10-men Town, was fuming at experienced official Langford showing Town midfielder Azor Matusiwa a yellow rather than a red card for tripping Ryoya Morishita when the Japanese international was breaking towards goal, insinuating bias towards the Blues as a relegated Premier League club.
"I am heartbroken for the boys,” Ismael said. "It was a much better performance than the previous one. Very strong, pressed well, we forced a lot of mistakes. Great first half, second half solid. We got players back and we saw straight away the difference in our game.
"We took the lead and at the end we conceded the goal again, so that’s very painful. Normally, we should talk about three points tonight, to enjoy it, the connection with the fans was really good, but tonight I can’t not talk about the referee.
"Now, enough is enough. We have a list of all the decisions against us this season. The red card is a disgrace. It’s terrible, I can’t accept that.
"It's a penalty on Yuki [Ohashi] and the last situation it’s a corner for us again. The standard from the referees in the Championship is terrible.
"The team fighting to get promoted invests a lot of money to keep a very nice Championship, to play football. And every game, every three days it’s always the same with the decisions, the standard is really, really poor.
"It is unacceptable when I see the list of the decision-making against us. Sometimes it can happen, one or two decisions, I didn’t say anything. But now, that one with the red card I think is hopeless.
"Maybe it’s because it’s a former Premier League club and wanted to help them because nobody can understand.
"This is a terrible decision and that’s why I have to talk about it tonight. It’s very disgraceful to see that type of performance because nobody can understand and follow the decision-making from the referee.”
Ismael brought a list of refereeing infractions to his post-match press conference, which he went through.
"No penalty West Brom, no penalty [Andri] Gudjohnsen Watford. Charlton handball, no penalty. Swansea, no penalty. Preston, no red card on [Ben] Whiteman. No penalty on Pape [Gueye]. Wrexham, no foul by [Ryan] Hedges. Ipswich, clear red card Matusiwa and a penalty on Yuki.
"It’s simple like that. They have to do their job. Now it’s enough, it’s just a little bit too much. If you get 10 per cent of that, it’s maybe four points for us. At some point, enough is enough.
"They say we have to talk after the game, but every time they say the same thing - ’I didn’t see anything' or ‘Sorry, I made a mistake’. That’s it always, sorry, sorry. What we want is to raise the standard, raise the quality on the pitch.
"We have to perform. The manager, the players, everyone at a football club has to perform.
"And the referee just has needs perform now because it can’t stay like this. The red card today for me, enough is enough.”
He added:"You know the rules why it can’t be a red card - if the chance is not clear to score a goal, then you give a yellow card.
"But on that one there is no excuse. He’s the last man, he has a clear chance to score a goal, so what is the explanation? It would be interesting. Maybe the referee should come in front of you guys and explain his decision.”