West Ham United Football Club News

• Nickname:Hammers
• Founded:1895
• Manager:Sam Allardyce

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Zola accepts Cole's red card

05 Mar 2009 - 08:54:34

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West Ham United boss Gianfranco Zola thought Stuart Attwell was wrong to send Carlton Cole off during his side's 1-0 win at Wigan Athletic but refused to slate the young referee.

Cole had scored the only goal of the match before being dismissed for a high challenge on Emmerson Boyce.

The Latics' Lee Cattermole also saw red and Attwell booked six more players in a bad-tempered JJB Stadium encounter.

After the match, Zola said: "I told the referee I didn't think it was a reckless challenge. Carlton didn't even look at the defender - he just went for the ball.

"He didn't want to cause any damage and the sending off was too much.

"The referee is a human being and they make mistakes and we are here to support them.

"We explained it to each other at the end of the game. He said he thought it was a reckless challenge."