It is somewhat bemusing to think that a referee has all of a sudden become qualified as to the best course of action for an injured player purely because he has lost control to such an extent that he has no idea what to do if the player does not come back onto the pitch.
Nobody is really disputing the three red cards that were issued on Wednesday night but I don't think it is within the referee's power to force a side to place an injured player on the pitch just so he can complete a game.
But that it seems is something that the FA deem acceptable with their statement yesterday defending the actions of the inept Linington
The spokesman said "The referee advised [Swansea manager] Paulo Sousa for the injured player to return to the field so the game could be concluded
"The Swansea management could have refused to send the player back on but it was in the best interests of everyone involved in the game for it to have a conclusion.
"Discussing what punishment Swansea would have faced if they did not comply with the referee's advice and any subsequent abandonment would be hypothetical because the player returned to the field.
"But should the game have been abandoned, there would clearly have been an investigation."
