'Nailed on' - controversial Birmingham City decision given damning verdict by ex-FIFA official
Birmingham City defeated 10 man Wycombe last time out
League One leaders Birmingham City took another step towards automatic promotion to the Championship by claiming a hard-fought 1-0 home victory against nearest title challengers Wycombe Wanderers.
Taylor Gardner-Hickman netted the only goal of the game as the runaway leaders stretched their advantage to a commanding 12 points as they target an instant return to the second-tier after last year’s shock relegation.
The win leaves the Blues unbeaten in 18 matches and firmly in charge of the promotion race. Chris Davies’ side controlled the tempo of the contest, dominated possession, won more corners and were good value for their victory over The Chairboys at St Andrew’s Stadium, but it could have been a much tighter contest if it wasn’t for the referee’s controversial decision to send midfielder Xavier Simons off the field at the stroke of half time for a mistimed sliding challenge on Ethan Laird.
Keith Hackett urges Wycombe to appeal red card decision
Well renowned former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official Keith Hackett has claimed that Wycombe Wanderers would be well within their rights to appeal the red card given to midfielder Xavier Simons as they prepare for a testing period of fixtures.
Former referee Hackett told Football Insider: “It’s a reckless challenge but for me it doesn’t fulfil the requirements for serious foul play so the referee’s got it wrong. It’s a yellow for (being) reckless, it’s not serious foul play. If it was serious foul play he’d have to have excessive force.
“There’s a bit of that there but there’s no malice, there’s no brutality in that challenge. He’s made a challenge for the ball and he’s taken the man. Reckless. Yellow card, absolute nailed on yellow, he’s got that one wrong! If I were his club I’d appeal. He might not get off because you’re dependent on who’s on the panel. I think if a player looks at that and he’s on the panel he’s going to say that’s a yellow and not a red.”
How the promotion picture now looks
Birmingham City are now 12 points clear of second place Wycombe with a game in hand, leaving them very much in the driving seat for this year’s title race. The Blues are also 14 points clear of third place Wrexham with a game in hand and furthered their advantage over the Red Dragons after their 0-0 draw at home to Bolton Wanderers.
Birmingham can still pick up a further 42 points from their remaining 14 games and have a strong chance of exceeding the 100 point mark. Wrexham can pick up a maximum of 101 points if they win every match, meaning the Blues need just five wins and a draw from 14 games to guarantee automatic promotion regardless of results elsewhere.
Birmingham travel to Bolton in their next League One clash and will also keep a close eye on results elsewhere as Wycombe host Burton and Wrexham travel to Huddersfield.