Paul Heckingbottom in furious rant after ‘bang out of order’ decisions in Birmingham City defeat

The Preston North End boss wasn't happy after his team were beaten by Birmingham City

Paul Heckingbottom launched into a furious rant about referee Lewis Smith’s performance after his Preston North End side were beaten by Birmingham City.

The Lilywhites boss was enraged by some of the decisions that went against his side at Deepdale.

He claims Phil Neumann’s winner shouldn’t have stood and bemoaned Smith’s failure to award a penalty for Eiran Cashin’s challenge on Lewis Dobbin in stoppage time.

Heckingbottom said: “They shouldn't be able to allow that much influence on a game of football, it's scandalous really. Anyone who watches us knows we are referred to a different standard than everyone else and you can see that there today. You know you're in trouble when you can see from the half-way line what's happening.

“I wasn't going to say anything about it all, but when I'm looking back I feel I have to defend the club and the players and the fans. It's scandalous really. You're looking at the first free kick, Odel (Offiah) wins the ball, comes away with the ball and (they’re) saying he's caught Keshi Anderson in the face with his hand.

“They put the ball in, he scores with his arm. So we're up against it, but we performed really well and we're on top. A few minutes later Ben (Whiteman) gets - not a hand in the face - a swinging elbow in the face, busts his lip. Tommy Doyle’s nowhere near any of the ball; we had Sam Greenwood sent off for that last year, not in the box.

“Lewis Dobbin's dragged down once he's gone around Cashin... Cashin knows he can't get there, hooks his arm round Lewis , drags him to the floor. And then back to what they were giving the free kick for, apparently it's not a penalty on Milly because the ‘keeper got some of the ball, when he punched him with two fists in the face.

“So, Odel got all of the ball, maybe caught him with his little finger and they get a free kick. This is my point, it's just not good enough. We are reffed to a different standard, we've seen it over and over again, last season and this season. But these incidents are just rife amongst football.

“This is supposedly the fifth best league in the world and that, what we as Preston North End are given there, it's bang out of order. None of those should happen. To be fair, that's (Dobbin) the one I couldn't see properly from the other side. I could see our reaction, the players, but because he's hooked his arm and I’m that side, I couldn't see the hook.

“I said to the staff, I said to Bobby the fourth, it's pointless (trying to speak to them). You don't speak to them because the problem is once they know, and I've suffered from this so many times, once you've proved them wrong and you've got them in a corner, they just send you off. That's it, it's pointless, so I'm done speaking to them but we have to have them on the pitch.”

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