Steve Coppell has launched a stinging attack on referees by
claiming they favour the Premier League big boys.
The Reading boss has already seen two of his players sent of with
just two games of the new season gone.
Kalifa Cisse was red-carded by ref Mike Dean in the defeat to
Chelsea on Wednesday after protests from Blues striker Claudio
Pizarro.
It came hot on the heels of Dave Kitson's dismissal in the draw at
Manchester United on Sunday.
But Coppell believes those players would not have been sent off had
they been playing for one of the top teams.
He claimed: I still maintain that if it was a United player on one
of ours then Kitsons challenge wouldnt have been a sending
off.
And then on Wednesday night there was a foul on John Oster before
Cisse was sent off. Yet the referee or fourth official didnt say
anything about that.
I still say the ref wouldnt have seen any contact and instead he
just went on the very strong reaction.
To a certain extent every team outside the big clubs have to put
up with that.
I think there is, certainly unconsciously, a big-team reaction
and everyone else has to put up with it.