PORTSMOUTH goalkeeper David James has backed referee Mark Halsey after the red-card incident which left Ipswich fuming.Town were angered with Halsey's decision to send off Liam Trotter after 25 minutes of Saturday's 1-0 FA Cup defeat to the Premier League side at Portman Road.
PORTSMOUTH goalkeeper David James has backed referee Mark Halsey after the red-card incident which left Ipswich fuming.
Town were angered with Halsey's decision to send off Liam Trotter after 25 minutes of Saturday's 1-0 FA Cup defeat to the Premier League side at Portman Road.
Trotter, who received his marching orders for a tackle on Pedro Mendes, will find out today if the club's appeal on his behalf has been successful.
Ipswich boss Jim Magilton was angered by Halsey for issuing a straight red card for the foul and even Pompey boss Harry Redknapp thought it was harsh.
But James thinks the time has come to clamp down on the spate of potentially career-ending horror tackles that have been seen recently.
He said: “The red card incident all happened very quickly and I didn't see clearly what happened.
“My feeling is the sending off was because he came off the ground. That is a standard red card at the moment.”
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