Wigan Athletic Football Club News

• Nickname:Latics
• Founded:1932
• Manager:Roberto Martinez

• Ground:JJB Stadium
• Capacity:25,000

Latics praise referee change

27 Sep 2007 - 16:33:00

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Wigan Athletic manager Chris Hutchings has praised the 'common sense' decision to replace referee Steve Bennett for Saturday's match with Liverpool.

The Latics boss has denied claims that he asked for Bennett to be removed from the fixture following his controversial decision to send off Kevin Kilbane during their 1-0 defeat at Newcastle earlier in the month.

The Republic of Ireland international was dismissed after picking up two yellow cards, while Bennett reported Wigan for failing to control their players - a charge the club later admitted.

However, Hutchings has revealed the Football Association decided to replace Bennett with Mark Clattenburg for the JJB Stadium clash and he has welcomed the move.

"It wasn't our request," he told Sky Sports News. "It was something that happened.

"It's probably common sense at this moment in time, but it's something we don't really want to comment on.

"If he'd refereed the game, so be it, we can't change that, but we have got to forget it and move on. The most important thing is to focus on what we want to do and the game itself.

"It's just common sense to change it and have a bit of breathing space for four weeks or six weeks before it comes around again."