Terry McPhillips bemoans refereeing decisions in Blackpool's cruel Boxing Day defeat at Rochdale

A frustrated Terry McPhillips bemoaned some of the key refereeing decisions in Blackpool's cruel 2-1 Boxing Day defeat at Rochdale.
Terry McPhillips was frustrated his Blackpool side were on the wrong end of a number of contentious refereeing decisions in their defeat at RochdaleTerry McPhillips was frustrated his Blackpool side were on the wrong end of a number of contentious refereeing decisions in their defeat at Rochdale
Terry McPhillips was frustrated his Blackpool side were on the wrong end of a number of contentious refereeing decisions in their defeat at Rochdale
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Rochdale 2-1 Blackpool: Last-ditch goal cruelly denies 10-man Seasiders a point

Blackpool had no complaints with the sending off of Jordan Thompson, who was shown a straight red for what appeared to be a headbutt to the chest of Callum Camps after 29 minutes.

But Thompson had reacted angrily after complaining of being stamped on by Camps, who only received a booking.

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The Seasiders had earlier been denied a blatant penalty when Armand Gnanduillet was hauled to the floor by Dale keeper Brendan Moore after taking the ball past him inside the area.

And the Blackpool players believed Dale's winner, which came with just a minute of normal time to go, ought to have been ruled out for offside.

“It’s football, isn’t it? You don’t always get what you deserve and I thought we deserved a draw," McPhillips said.

“I think the referee has had a reasonable game with nearly all of the decisions bar the crucial ones.

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“Jordan shouldn’t do what he did, he shouldn’t react. He’s got to learn from that because it’s cost us. He’s a good player so he’s going to get kicked.

“But he actually got stamped on, I’ve seen that back. The referee booked him, which I don’t get. You don’t book someone for a stamp, you send him off.

“So that’s why Jordan reacted the way he did, which he shouldn’t have done, but they should have both been sent off.

“Then you look at their winning goal at the end, I thought it was offside but you can’t really tell on the video. It’s as close as close can be.

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“It was certainly a penalty for Armand (Gnanduillet) in the first half as well, there’s just no doubt

“But I thought the lads were brilliant with the way they defended but they just got that one wrong at the end and we maybe could have had one a little deeper, so that’s cost us.

“But credit to the players, they put a right shift in, I couldn’t have asked for anymore effort. We’re just disappointed.”