Swansea City head coach Vitor Matos has defended midfielder Marko Stamenic after the New Zealand international was sent off in the 26th minute of his side's 2-1 defeat at Birmingham City on Saturday.
Stamenic received a straight red card for a heavy challenge on Birmingham's Ethan Laird, a former Swansea loanee. At the time of the dismissal, Swansea had been the more threatening side, but the hosts seized the initiative and took the lead through Jay Stansfield. Although Swansea equalised in the second half, Stansfield struck a late winner to send Birmingham top of the Championship table.
Matos argued that Stamenic played the ball and made no contact with Laird. 'I think what happened in that situation was that Marko touched the ball. He tackled the ball with the first foot, he tackled the ball with the second foot. There's no contact between the two players, so then it's the judgement of the ref if that's a red or not,' Matos said. The sending-off means Stamenic faces a three-match ban, ruling him out of upcoming fixtures against West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough and Cardiff City unless Swansea successfully appeal.
The Swansea boss also criticised the consistency of refereeing decisions, noting he had seen worse challenges go unpunished in recent games. 'It's just harsh when we have this challenge and then there's a red card. It's for the refs to judge and try to find an agreement on where the line is,' he added.
The match at St Andrew's was also interrupted in the second half when Swansea goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux complained of missiles being thrown from the crowd. Referee Anthony Backhouse handed two cigarette lighters to the fourth official, prompting Matos to condemn the behaviour: 'It's more than clear that it is not acceptable. Let's see what happens. Of course it's not right.'
Despite the defeat, which extended Swansea's poor run to four losses in five matches and dropped them to sixth in the table, Matos remained defiant. 'What I am here to say is that with this group of players, with the effort they made and the character they have, we as a club, we will come back. They will come back and we will go back to our standards,' he declared.
