Stoke City Football Club News

• Nickname:Potters
• Founded:1863
• Manager:Tony Pulis

• Ground:Britannia Stadium
• Capacity:28,218

Ref Attwell earns Potters blast

19 Apr 2010 - 14:26:26

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Stoke City defender Danny Higginbotham claims referee Stuart Attwell was influenced by 'who shouted the loudest' against Bolton Wanderers.

Higginbotham was part of the side that lost 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday following a dramatic late fightback from the Trotters.

However, the full-back was outraged after he felt Attwell - the youngest Premier League referee aged just 27 - was swayed into awarding Bolton an 85th minute free-kick from which Matt Taylor drew them level.

Taylor then snatched a dramatic late winner to further rub salt into Higginbotham and Stoke's wounds.

"There were a couple of decisions we weren't happy with but you've got to be careful what you say these days," he told The Sentinel.

"There was a couple of times when he looked as though he wasn't sure.

"It wasn't so much the free-kick itself, but more the fact he looked at it for a few seconds and it looked like a case of who's shouted the loudest."

Attwell has regularly found himself at the centre of controversy since being fast-tracked into the elite group of referees permitted to officiate Premier League games.

His highest-profile gaffe was awarding Reading the now infamous 'ghost goal' in a Championship game against Watford in September 2008.