Birmingham City were beaten 1-0 by Bristol City at the weekend a match that saw just three bookings
Anis Mehmeti is ‘lucky’ to have escaped with a yellow card after an incident against Birmingham City, according former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher.
Both the Bristol City midfielder and Blues’ Tomoki Iwata were booked in the 66th minute of Saturday’s Championship match at Ashton Gate.
The hosts were leading 1-0 at the time – and would go on to secure the three points condemning Chris Davies’ side to a fourth defeat in seven away matches.
However, the game was not without controversy, including the confrontation midway through the second period when Mehmeti appeared to raise his hands to Iwata’s face.
Both were cautioned after coming head to head before Iwata was shoved backwards – an incident that caught Gallagher’s eye.
“I think he’s got lucky, hasn’t he? He’s got lucky that James Linington is dealing with another incident,” Gallagher told Sky Sports’ Ref Watch.
“The assistant is probably on the halfway [line] and has fed in the information ‘There’s been a clash between these two, you need to yellow card both’.
“I think they’ve got lucky because by yellow carding them, it’s been dealt with. If this went to the FA he may well face a charge of violent conduct.”
It was suggested to Gallagher the referee’s assistant has also missed part where Mehmeti appears to push Iwata in the face.
The former official continued: “He hasn’t got the same angle the camera’s got, that we’ve got because he would be looking this side in. I think that’s absolutely right.
“He’s seen the clash. He’s probably said to the referee ‘They both adopted an aggressive attitude, you need to yellow card both’.
“The referee’s done that because he’s duty bound to because he hasn’t seen it. When you look at what we’re looking at, it’s a little bit of a different picture.”
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