Roberto Sad At Bristol Rovers Injustice

Martinez was not defending the actions of Brandy nor was he claiming that he didn't deserve to be sent off but he did believe after the game that it was unfair that two players grab each other and yet only one gets sent off.   Coles is understood to have been red-carded in the tunnel in the incident which led to Graeme Jones being questioned by Police but he was not shown the card on the pitch after the incident with Brandy.

“It was right in front of me and I can guarantee Febian hasn’t got a nasty bone in his body,” said Martinez in the aftermath of the game

“He had a similar challenge last week and it’s just a desire to close the ball down, he doesn’t get off the ground with two feet.

“The challenge was a normal one and the referee told me that he was sent off because of the reaction.

“The two players grabbed each other by the throat and it’s disappointing that one gets more punished than the other.

“I don’t like these reactions in football, but, if that’s the case, then both players should be sent off.”

It is difficult to argue with the logic that if raised hands or anything similar is deemed a red card offence then it seems a little odd that one can be red carded but not the other. 

Roberto though was delighted with the return to the side of Darryl Duffy who came in from the cold to start against Rovers and with Brandy starting a three match ban for his red card then it is a welcome boost to a side knocked again yesterday with the news that Garry Monk will miss another couple of weeks with his back injury

“I’ve seen Darryl in training on a daily basis and he has worked really hard, he deserved his chance and I thought he was fantastic,” said Martinez.

“In football, you cannot have an excuse when things are not going your way, and he has just got on with his job.

“He has been dying for his chance and he was lively and sharp.

“I’ve said before that the amount of games we have in a short space of time is amazing and you need those fresh legs.

“It was great to see the desire of the new faces coming in. They gave us that solid platform to get the win.”