Dickov’s fury as Mvoto sees red

OFF YOU GO... referee David Coote gives Jean Yves M'voto his marching orders.

ATHLETIC chief Paul Dickov slammed hapless referee David Coote after his side’s 2-1 victory at Scunthorpe last night.

Coote dismissed Jean-Yves Mvoto via two yellow cards, the second in injury time. The centre-back will miss Saturday’s Rochdale derby thanks to an automatic one-game ban.

“I don’t think the game was helped by the referee in the slightest,” said Dickov, whose side also pick up a £2,500 fine for accumulating six bookings in total on the night.

Athletic are unable to officially question the decision, as clubs cannot appeal against a dismissal comprising two yellow cards.

“Jean-Yves got his first booking when the linesman was flagging for a foul, a pull on him. He then overrules him and says it was handball.

“How can he do that if the linesman has given a foul before it?

“It summed it all up in front of the dug-out, when Jim Wesolowski got scissored and he gave us the free-kick, but thought we were shooting towards the other goal.

“It is the worst (performance) I have seen in my time in football.”


DEAN Furman went under the surgeon’s knife today.
Athletic’s captain, who watched last night’s game from the sidelines, will have an exploratory operation to discover the extent of the damage to his knee cartilage.

Chief executive Alan Hardy said: “It is impossible to estimate how long we will be without Dean until the operation has been carried out.”