Lions consider appeal

Last updated : 23 February 2005 By Neil Andrews
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Millwall will today decide whether or not appeal against the three red cards handed out by referee Mike Jones last night.

The match exploded in the final minute when an incident involving Alan Dunne and Cardiff City's Chris Barker resulted in a mass brawl which led to both Dunne and David Livermore being sent off. Dunne was said to have punched Barker while Livermore received his marching orders after clashing with James Collins.

To add to The Lions' woes, manager Dennis Wise was then dismissed after a water bottle which he threw to the ground bounced up an hit the assistant referee.

Dunne is now set to miss The Lions' next four games while Livermore will be out for the next three. With Millwall's squad already hit by injury, Wise is naturally hoping to get these decisions overturned.

"We have a few injury problems as it is," said Wise. "So we will study the video to see whether it is worth appealing.

"But we battled hard for this win. We defended resolutely and we got the result we were after. It's just a shame the last minute might overshadow that."

Defender Matt Lawrence, who was standing in for injured skipper Kevin Muscat, fells that both red cards were the result of the referee failing to get a proper grip on the game, as he explained to the club's official site:

"The ref said he hadn't lost control of the game, but I thought he had. I felt that with the incident involving Dunney right down in the corner, he maybe should have just booked them both and sent them on their way.

But having sent one player off, others got involved and when people are diving on the floor he was then forced to send even more people off. He ended up showing three red cards when he really didn't need to send anyone off.

I know refereeing is a very hard job and I wouldn't knock anyone for trying. The referee is obviously doing the best he can the same as we all are. But it's an awful shame at the end of the game to see three professional footballers sent off."