A FUMING Jason De Vos blamed foul play for his hand-ball which led to an equalising penalty by Leeds in last night's 1-1 draw at Portman Road.The Canadian central defender said: “There is no question it hit my hand but I was shoved.

By Derek Davis

A FUMING Jason De Vos blamed foul play for his hand-ball which led to an equalising penalty by Leeds in last night's 1-1 draw at Portman Road.

The Canadian central defender said: “There is no question it hit my hand but I was shoved.

“I have been in the game long enough to know you can't touch the ball unless you have the goalkeepers' gloves on.

“It was a definite foul and that made me put my hands up involuntarily.”

Blues boss Joe Royle blasted the referee with both barrels after the controversial penalty decision three minutes from time denied Town all three points.

David Healy converted from the spot to cancel out Danny Haynes' goal.

Royle lambasted referee Crossley for not spotting the push. He said: “The referee will be embarrassed when he sees the foul on Jason de Vos. Hulse has just barged into him, which is why the hand has gone up.

“I have seen it three times now and I don't understand how the referee can see the hand-ball but not the push. It should not even have been a corner in the first place. The linesman was not up with play several times and the players are adamant it was not a corner.”

Leeds boss Kevin Blackwell thought his side were worth a point and was happy enough with the penalty decision. He said: “I'm not disagreeing with Joe but it looked like a penalty from where I was as an arm went up.”

Royle was delighted with his side's display and was convinced that the only way they were going to drop points was through a controversial decision.

He said: “Leeds were never going to cause us any problems through open play and the only danger was corners.

“It was a real shame because we played outstandingly well and if the second goal had gone in we would have won the game.”

The penalty incident overshadowed a good Town performance underpinned by seven home-grown players in the starting line up.

While Danny Haynes scored the opener, Shane Supple made a couple of excellent saves and Owen Garvan impressed in midfield - all are just 18.

Fellow former Academy star Matt Richards was arguably the star of the night, while Scott Barron, Ian Westlake and Richard Naylor all played a big part in extending the Blues' unbeaten league run to five.