'Not an experiment' - Paul Ince fumes as Birmingham City send Reading into the relegation zone
The latest Birmingham City news and views from BirminghamLive as Paul Ince reacts to Reading's draw with Blues
Paul Ince has criticised the decision to appoint an inexperienced referee for today’s 1-1 draw between Reading and Birmingham City.
Royals were booed off as they went for a seventh game without victory, a result that saw them slip into the relegation zone.
Their head coach felt his team was the better side and that they deserved the three points, he was, though, less pleased with the performance of referee Scott Oldham who was officiating at Championship level for just the third time in his career.
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Having, earlier this week, been deducted six points for breaching an EFL business plan, Ince’s side has been plunged into a relegation battle. This was the first match since that penalty was imposed and Ince questioned the appointment of an official who has spent most of his career in the lower leagues – even if it did end early when he hobbled off to be replaced by the fourth official for the final quarter of the game.
“That’s the best thing that could happen to this game,” Ince sniped. “We know it’s a tough, tough job but this referee I think it was his third game in the Championship, it’s not an experiment, it’s the business part of the season where managers, staff lose their jobs.
“We are not an experiment. We can’t have referees having their third game in the Championship – any team. I am not happy about that at all. Some of things he was doing were so, so, so so poor.
“I like to take it easy with referees but today’s one. We had four fouls that he gives to them. I am thinking I must be from a different planet I must be seeing the game wrong.
“It’s not a game where you can have two games and throw yourself into that. He pulled his calf. So he said. Maybe he was getting so much stick from our punters he has called it a day.”
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