Bolton boss Owen Coyle believes Ivan Klasnic should not have seen red after going from hero to villain in a matter of minutes.
The closing stages proved to be a rollercoaster affair for Klasnic who scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Stoke in the second minute of injury time, and 15 minutes after coming off the bench. But in the moments that followed the Croatia striker was handed two yellow cards and a subsequent red by referee Peter Walton after first being involved in a skirmish with Dean Whithead, then seemingly catching Rory Delap with an elbow.
Coyle said: "The first yellow I can accept because he went out to help his pal who had been fouled, and then the second he has jumped early for the ball, with no intention of hurting anybody. To receive a yellow card I thought was very harsh. I don't know what the referee has seen, if he had a different angle."
He added: "But it's two yellow cards, you can't affect that, and it means we have another player suspended."
Dismissing suggestions Klasnic was over-excited after his superb strike, turning sharply onto a long throw from Gretar Steinsson, Coyle added: "You should certainly be excited after scoring a goal like that.
"It will be a mixture of emotions he is feeling right now - delight at being the matchwinner, and disappointment at being suspended for the next game. But the way we went about things, I'm delighted, and against one of the form teams in the division, so to get the three points was terrific."
The winning goal was naturally a sickener for Stoke manager Tony Pulis, who said: "To come in 1-0 down was desperately disappointing after we were so dangerous in the first half.
"We had a good start to the second half, but we've no complaints with respect to their goal because we've thrown the ball in a lot and got our rewards.
"So we just have to take it on the chin and get on with it."
Source: PA
