Birmingham City interim Gary Rowett made a ‘red card’ claim after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City at King Power Stadium.
Leicester huffed and puffed for much of the second half without any success and it looked as though they were heading towards a score draw, which would’ve been a huge missed opportunity.
But, thankfully for The Foxes faithful, City secured a late winner through Stephy Mavididi, who headed home Yunus Akgun‘s left-footed cross.
It was Mavididi’s 13th goal of the season and perhaps the most important, as it put his side above both Leeds United and Ipswich Town to the summit of the Championship table, with a game in hand on the aforementioned pair.
Though, it could have been very different if one Leicester player was shown a red card, as The Blues boss believed he should’ve done.
Gary Rowett believes Wout Faes should’ve been shown red card
Speaking post-match, Rowett made a controversial claim that Leicester defender Wout Faes should’ve been red-carded for a challenge on Jay Stansfield in the first half.
“I thought Jay Stansfield, when Faes brings him down in the middle, there’s no cover,” Rowett said.
“I was told it wasn’t a clear enough attacking position. I’m not really sure what that means because I thought that was quite a big moment. To me that is probably a red card,” he explained.
Rowett did admit, very modestly, that the decision wasn’t the reason his side lost on the day.
“I’m not going to grumble and make these things a reason why we haven’t won. We haven’t drawn or won the game because Leicester are a very, very good side with very good players and really well structured.”
Wout Faes fortunate not to be red-carded
Faes played a dangerous game making the challenge where he did and he was rightly awarded a yellow card, at the very least.
The Belgium international has that rashness in his game and he needs to find the balance between that and being a proactive defender.
Whilst he has enjoyed a stellar campaign, by all accounts, he has been a little sloppy in areas in recent weeks, most notably during the 1-0 defeat to Bristol City, when he was labelled a ‘liability’.
If he’s to take that next step in his development, improving his decision-making has to be his focus and his possible red card on Saturday should be a real warning.