By Harvey Toozer
Cardiff City boss Brian Barry-Murphy was furious with what he claimed was a lack of protection given to Yousef Salech after the striker’s worrying early exit.
Salech was forced off in the 40th minute mark following a collision with Stockport’s Brad Hills.
The incident came as both players contested an aerial duel, but the nature of the clash was called into question by Cardiff players, coaches and fans, many of whom believed Hills should have been sent off.
Two apparent flailing elbows from Hills left Salech on the floor for over 10 minutes before he was stretchered off and later taken to hospital.
The Bluebirds have confirmed that Salech was discharged without serious injury and will undergo “rest and recovery for a short period”.
But Barry-Murphy was furious in the aftermath of the game, arguing that a pattern has developed where fouls on Salech are going unpunished by officials.
He said: “It’s been coming, we’ve seen for months that he hasn’t been protected by the referees.
“He’s been consistently fouled and the level of threshold has been confusing.
Stricter directives on aerial challenges and player safety were introduced for referees this season.
Barry-Murphy added: “The interpretation of the new rules is up to the referees but it’s clear how much you can and cannot get away with.
“The level of challenges that he (Salech) has consistently faced are clearly fouls that have not been punished.”
The Irishman admitted he found it was hard to focus on the game following the incident, which at the time seemed as though it could have been an extremely serious injury.
He said: “It’s very difficult to compose yourself and focus on the game but considering those circumstances I was over the moon (with the players’ performances).”