Sunderland manager Régis Le Bris has criticised the application of the rule on hair pulling after Dan Ballard was sent off during the 1-1 draw with Wolves. Ballard was dismissed by referee Paul Tierney for tugging the braids of Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare in an aerial duel, leaving Sunderland to play with 10 men for over an hour. Nordi Mukiele had given the visitors the lead before Santiago Bueno equalised in the second half.
Le Bris described the decision as 'hard to digest', arguing that the offence was not intentional violent conduct. 'We understand the rule and Paul Tierney is a great referee, but the execution of the rule is very hard to digest because I don't think it is intentional and violent conduct,' he said. The red card means Ballard will serve a three-match ban for violent conduct, effectively ending his season.
The Sunderland boss highlighted the difficulty of defending against tall strikers with long hair, noting that Michael Keane and Lisandro Martínez have also been penalised for similar offences this season. 'If the rule is the rule, when you have a striker with long hair, you will have problems because you can't defend,' Le Bris added. 'It was more or less the case.'
Le Bris is considering whether to appeal the decision but admitted it is a 'grey area'. He said: 'Sometimes a handball is the same. With this rule we are at that stage where you have to manage the rule to make it clean for different situations.' The draw leaves Sunderland 12th in the table, denting their hopes of European qualification.
Wolves remain bottom of the league and were booed off at full-time. Manager Rob Edwards, whose side had lost their previous three matches, defended his decision to substitute Hugo Bueno, who had a knee problem. 'I understand the situation at the moment. We've been relegated, we're bottom of the league. It will be all the more rewarding when we are able to turn things around,' he said.
