Quote Originally Posted by BenFostersGloves View Post
WOW. Clutching at straws springs to mind here. Just desperate.

I've watched the replays and I was at the game. The incident was pretty much right in front of me. I had one of the best views in the ground and better than any home fan due to how close I was to it. I can understand you thinking this straight after the incident but not after watching the highlights. Its borderline delusional thinking Mullin's contact caused the handball.

He wasn't sent off for being the last man, he was sent off for deliberate handball. So other defenders and where they were is totally irrelevant.

If your hand is stretched out like his was and it was a clear deliberate action then you're in trouble. There was no stumble or anything like that.

As for the so called 'push'. Dear god. It was a coming together of arms, a slight nudge if anything and nothing more. Certainly no foul and that did not cause Cooney to reach out and almost grab the ball and bring it down. If that's a foul then football isn't a contact sport, which is just nonsense. I've seen worse in kids football.

They were not running at full pelt at all either. Where on earth have you got that from?

Its extremely naïve to believe Cooney didn't know exactly what he was doing. It didn't work with the officials but its worked a treat with you. He didn't take it well did he. Looks like the handball rules haven't reached Crewe yet.
Okay, you can tell everybody that if you want. You can also abuse us as we've got a regular on here who does that anyway. As for handball, it is not a red card offence unless done to prevent a possible goal-scoring situation. That's the relevant bit here. There was no way Mullin was in danger of scoring. Still, if you've got Hollywood stars in your eyes, you problem can't see that.
As for Cooney, why would he deliberately handball in such a harmless place.
As others have said, the event may not have changed the result but the ref's one minute in the spotlight certainly ruined the game as a spectacle.
I'm not going to comment about 'Mad Dog' Maclean other than to note he should have had a red card in each of the games but somehow got away with both.