adminJoel Latibeaudiere describes ‘dangerous’ challenge he saw coming amid second red frustrations
Coventry City defender Joel Latibeaudiere labelled Will Lankshear’s blow to his head as “dangerous” after a physical incident late in Saturday’s goalless draw with Oxford United, as both he and head coach Frank Lampard felt the visitors were fortunate not to end the match with nine men.
The Sky Blues centre-back was caught by the Oxford striker in the 77th minute at the CBS Arena, with Lankshear shown a second yellow card before being dismissed.
The forward had only come on as a second-half substitute and had already been booked just two minutes earlier for another foul on Latibeaudiere.
Speaking to CoventryLive about the incident, the 26-year-old explained how it unfolded. “The ball was in the air and I was focused on it,” he said. “Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly saw a forearm and then felt a big hit that put me on the ground.
He caught me just above the chin, so it was a solid whack. I didn’t even realise he’d been sent off at first because I was sitting up while the physios checked on me. I saw it coming late and just had to take it.”
The referee wasted little time in issuing the second yellow, followed by a red card. When asked whether the challenge should have resulted in a straight red for violent conduct, Latibeaudiere stopped short of making a firm judgement.
“I haven’t watched it back yet, so I can’t really say,” he added. “But it’s a dangerous challenge, especially when it’s to the head, and he was rightly made to leave the pitch.”
Latibeaudiere also gave his view on another contentious moment earlier in the match, when Coventry felt Oxford defender Ciaron Brown should have been sent off for a challenge on Haji Wright in the 65th minute.
“He was the last man,” he said. “Haji spun him and got the wrong side, then he was brought down. On another day, that’s a red card. Today it wasn’t, and sometimes that’s just how it goes.”
Lampard, however, was far less accepting of the decision and made no attempt to hide his frustration after the final whistle, insisting his side have suffered a run of unfavourable calls this season.
When asked directly whether Brown should have been dismissed, the Coventry boss replied: “Absolutely. Every week we seem to be talking about decisions.
We’ve had clear penalties not given, and sometimes we get apologies, sometimes we don’t. Then there was what I thought was a clear red card – a second yellow that was obvious.
“Everyone knew it. Their bench knew it as well, which is why they all jumped up straight away to try and play it down. They should have been down to 10 men much earlier, and then finished the game with nine because the later red card was definitely a red too.”
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