Exclusive: Preston star set for ‘totally unfair’ ban over Blackburn controversy
Preston North End captain Ali McCann is facing a two-match ban after his side’s defeat to Blackburn Rovers, which Keith Hackett feels is “totally unfair.”
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the “collective caution” the midfielder received at the end of the game should not have been used in that situation.
Paul Heckingbottom’s side were left furious after two penalty calls went against them in a 2-1 defeat to Blackburn at Ewood Park on Friday.
Now it looks as though Preston could be about to receive a further blow in the wake of that defeat, although Hackett does not feel it is the correct punishment for them to receive.
Preston man takes one for the team at Blackburn
At full-time in the game at Friday night, several members of the Lilywhites side angrily surrounded referee Josh Smith to protest the decisions that had gone against them.
It has since been reported that McCann was the Preston player booked to representative punishment for that action, by way of a “collective caution” (journalist Alan Nixon).
Due to the fact that is his tenth booking of the campaign, the Northern Ireland international is now facing a two-match suspension.
Hackett though believes that is the wrong punishment to have been dished out, and that action should have been taken against the club as a whole for what happened.
Speaking to Football Insider about the suspension now facing the Preston midfielder, the former referee said:
“The process of actually there was collective dissent and then hooking that towards the captain of the team is not the right process. It’s unfair.
“That applies in the technical area, where if there’s misconduct in the technical area, then the referee can give that yellow card or red card to the manager of the team.
“Post-match, the scenario is the action that he should take, is report the misconduct of several players, not individuals, which is then dealt with under the banner of a team failing to control its players.
“So for me I think this is totally unfair on the Preston captain. If the referee sees that the captain is the offender and he cautions him directly, that is a seperate matter.
“But to actually say I’ve given him the yellow card for collective misbehaviour of the players, tell me where that is in law: it’s not.
“What we have is a reporting process that says where there’s a group of players, two or more, that then is a special incident report.
“So I’m hoping that the correspondence between the referee and the Football Association or the people that handle the disciplinary through a special panel will recognise that that process and procedure is incorrect.”
Following that defeat, Preston currently sit 15th in the Championship table, ten points clear of the relegation zone.
In other news, Keith Hackett has suggested Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom feared a ban after his comments at full-time after his side’s defeat to Blackburn.
For more Preston North End news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.