Swans striker Lee Trundle was pleading his innocence after Saturday’s game after a red card which earned him a three match ban which will also rob him of the chance of facing Sheffield United in the FA Cup.
After scoring twice, Trundle was dismissed in stoppage time of a game which the Swans lost 3-2 thanks to a last minute penalty. The dismissal was for ‘violent conduct’ which was use of the elbow but Trundle maintains that the referee was conned
”Taylor-Fletcher was pinching me from behind,” Swansea’s 12-goal top-scorer said. ”They were 3-2 up, there were 30 seconds to go and, in my eyes, there was no need for him to do it. ”Why did he have to start pinching me then? ”Then I went to shrug him off and he held his face as if I’d caught him. He was grabbing my back and my side. I tried to shrug him off and he went back. ”My arm did come up, but it wasn’t to elbow him. It was just to get him off. But he held his face and the ref saw it as an elbow.”
The 30-year-old was targeted as he went off by at least two members of Peter Jackson’s side, leaving boss Kenny Jackett moaning: ”Things are said to Lee by other players. ”He is a big player in this division and people bait him. He was getting stick coming off, which is a bit unnecessary but, unfortunately, he has to take that.” Trundle did not complain about the abuse, saying: ”Wherever I go I’ll get a lot of stick. ”If you’re having success somewhere there’s always another side to it and I just have to take that. It’s part and parcel of the game.”
This article first appeared on JACKARMY.net.