Portsmouth boss Avram Grant feels referee Steve Bennett should have shown some "common sense" instead of sending off Anthony Vanden Borre in his side's 0-0 draw with Blackburn at Fratton Park.
The south coast strugglers were given a temporary stay of execution from Barclays Premier League relegation after Hull failed to win at Stoke. But Grant, who went into the Rovers game without 13 first-team regulars, was left fuming after Vanden Borre received a second booking for deliberate handball.
The decision rules him out of the club's FA Cup semi-final with Tottenham at Wembley on Sunday, April 11 and Grant said: "I respect Steve Bennett very much - he is one of the best referees. But we have needed to see more common sense [from referees] this year."
He added: "In January, February and March we suffered with so many bad decisions against us - penalties that we saw on the television afterwards were not penalties and players not being sent off who should have been.
"It was one of those situations where if he hadn't given the red card, I don't think anyone would have blamed him."
Grant added: "I wouldn't say it wasn't the right decision, I won't say it was the wrong decision. It was just down to common sense and there are some decisions where if you don't take them, no-one will blame you.
"I don't think the first one was even a yellow card because the player gave the ball away. But I'm not speaking about right and wrong - I'm speaking about common sense."
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce was dejected to see his side denied a third straight Premier League win, despite enjoying the lion's share of the chances.
David Dunn and Christopher Samba hit the Pompey post in the first half, while Rovers huffed and puffed but created very few clear-cut opportunities in the second.
Allardyce said: "It has been very much the order of the season for us. We've done this so many times. We've created so many chances to win a game away from home and failed to do it. It's the reason why we've only won two away games in the Premier League this year."
Source: PA
