BLUES skipper Richard Naylor feels it is about time the FA clamped down on referees who are bending the rules by giving penalties even when the ball has struck a player's arm and not the other way.

By Derek Davis

BLUES skipper Richard Naylor feels it is about time the FA clamped down on referees who are bending the rules by giving penalties even when the ball has struck a player's arm and not the other way.

Naylor was livid that referee Graham Laws dismissed David Wright on his home debut after a Chris Iwelumo shot struck him, and it was even debatable if it was on the arm, and then showed him a red card and awarded a penalty.

Naylor said: “It was harsh, even if it has hit him on the arm he could not get out of the way. But we have seen it a lot this season when the ball has struck the player who has not been able to get out of the way and it is an aspect of the game that needs to be looked at.”

The Wright dismissal will leave Naylor looking for someone else to play at the back with him next week.

He added: “It gives people a chance to come in and we have got good playing waiting in the wings.”

The Wright sending off was not the only controversial decision with Ipswich denied a goal when it looked like a Billy Clarke shot had crossed the line before Garry Richards cleared and Karl Duguid scored at the other end moments later.

Naylor said: “Everyone says it was over so you take the lads' word for it. It was disappointing that it wasn't given but that's the way it goes.

“We switched off a little, with lads celebrating and others remonstrating, and a couple of their lads have sneaked up the blind side and scored.

“So, instead of being a goal up, we were a goal down but we showed great character to come back from that and we deserved the win at the end.”

The stand-in skipper was delighted with the spirit the Blues showed against a tough U's side.

He said: “It was the three points we needed and hopefully now we can go on the run that's needed to get to the play-offs.

“We needed to match the character and spirit that Colchester have shown all season. We have a lot of good footballers, and probably our strength is not fighting and scrapping in game like this, but we did in this game.

“We had the extra quality over Colchester but over the season we have not shown it on the pitch often enough. That is why we are where we are and that is why Colchester are higher than us, because they produce every week.

“On our day we have the players and are good enough to beat any team in this league.”

Naylor moved level with Paul Mariner into joint 20th place on the list of all-time appearance-makers for Ipswich Town in all competitions.

He will join Steve McCall, who still works at the club as the chief scout, on 340 if, as expected, he plays against Swansea City in the FA Cup on Saturday and he has moved to within one league game of matching 18th-placed Simon Milton on 294.