Régis Le Bris expressed frustration after Dan Ballard's red card for pulling an opponent's hair, calling the decision 'hard to digest' as Sunderland's hopes of European football were dented by a 1-1 draw at Wolves.
Match Summary
Sunderland took the lead through Nordi Mukiele against already-relegated Wolves. However, referee Paul Tierney dismissed Ballard for tugging the braids of Tolu Arokodare during an aerial duel, leaving Sunderland with 10 men for over an hour. Wolves capitalised on the numerical advantage, ending a goal drought dating back to mid-March when Santiago Bueno equalised in the second half.
Le Bris's Reaction
Le Bris acknowledged the rule but questioned its application. 'We understand the rule and Paul Tierney is a great referee, but the execution is very hard to digest because I don't think it was intentional or violent conduct,' he said. 'We don't want to be controversial, but football is football. It is a duel in the air with a tall striker weighing around 100kg, and Ballard is also massive. Many things can happen in 20 aerial duels per game.'
He added: 'If the rule is the rule, when you have a striker with long hair, you will have problems because you can't defend. It was more or less the case. They executed the rule, but it's a bit hard to digest.'
Context of the Rule
Ballard joins Michael Keane and Lisandro Martínez in being sent off for hair pulling this season. Keane also pulled Arokodare's hair, and both Everton and Manchester United failed to overturn their red cards. Le Bris is considering an appeal but admitted uncertainty about how to avoid such offences. 'First of all, we'll see who the striker is. If he has long hair, we have a problem. If they play long, be careful,' he said.
He compared it to handball rules: 'Sometimes a handball is the same; it's probably a grey area. With this rule, we are at a stage where you have to manage it to make it clean for different situations.'
Wolves' Perspective
Wolves remain bottom of the table after the draw, and manager Rob Edwards faced fan discontent. Hugo Bueno was substituted late for Angel Gomes, drawing boos. Edwards revealed Bueno had a knee problem and had not trained much. 'I'm very frustrated, we all are. We've been relegated, we're bottom of the league, and we've drawn against 10 men off the back of three defeats. I'm going to take it,' he said.
He added: 'It doesn't concern me. We've got three more games to get results and turn things around. It will be all the more rewarding when we succeed.'
