Martinez rues red

22 January 2011 19:30
Roberto Martinez felt red card shown to Gary Caldwell was "a bit soft" in the 3-0 defeat at Arsenal. Robin van Persie hit a hat-trick and also missed a penalty after Caldwell was dismissed for bringing down Cesc Fabregas. "I know Cesc very well. He is a wonderful player and very clever, and he knows how to buy decisions off referees," said Martinez. "There is contact, but you do not know how much of that comes from Cesc looking for it, or from Gary's leg. I don't think that contact is intentional to bring Cesc down. "Cesc comes from different culture - you do not cheat, if you take a decision from the referee it is because you are clever and you are getting something for your team. "In England, to do that is cheating, but in South America, Spain, even Italy, to try to get a decision from the referee is just being clever and getting that advantage. Everyone is allowed to do it. That action in Spain gets a 'well done' from everyone. In England, they won't be too happy with because it is a completely different approach to the game."

Source: PA