Bellamy red card unjust and potentially costly

Most football fans will tell you that the luck tends to go against their side regularly. In reality, it probably doesn't, and by rights it can't do for all, but at least two decisions yesterday were extremely questionable, and though we can't say with any real certainty, we'd have probably fancied our chances more had we neither been reduced to ten men or gone behind, though of late chasing games has tended to make us play.

My honest opinion is that we're no more hard done by than anyone else. I don't believe certain clubs get more go their way or that we're victimised by anybody. Most of the calls that have gone against us of late should have done; the penalties conceded against Burnley, Birmingham and Hull, Zabaleta's second booking at Wigan, the foul which led to the opener at Anfield, and going further back, the three-match ban for the Adebayor incident against Arsenal.

The decision to send Craig Bellamy off yesterday, however, really can't be excused. Clattenberg, one of the better referees in England, in my opinion, has made a monumental error and would best be advised admitting as much. The fact that officials make mistakes isn't nearly as annoying as their hard-faced attitude afterwards. We all slip up, but supporters would be more liable to forgive should hands be held up.

Judging the incident from any one of the number of angles available can surely only leave people certain that there was contact, and Bellamy's lack of theatrics afterwards only supports his case. As things stand, in the eyes of idiots at least, the player is being wrongly labelled a cheat, and is being roundly discussed, contrast that to the lack of a mention of a dive by a certain ginger-bearded Scouser and the conspiracy theories might not look all that far-fetched.

It's probably worth pointing out the distinct lack of outrage, even coverage, when an England international is accused of simulation, compared to a foreign player, particularly someone non-British. For all that the likes of Eduardo and Drogba have rightly been accused of cheating and should have been banned, the most frequent diver in English football, Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, gets away with it week in, week out, purely on reputation.

I sincerely hope the club appeals the decision if possible. Were it not so puzzling i'd advocate we take it on the chin and move on, but we face the prospect of losing perhaps our most important player this season for an extremely difficult game midweek. As it goes, that trip is to White Hart Lane, a ground at which debatable decisions have cost us during our last two visits; a late penalty last season and a handled opener the year before. Let's hope the officials that night are a bit more reliable than Clattenerg & Co.