Richie Wellens questions why a Championship referee did not oversee Leyton Orient’s loss to Birmingham City and maintains that his team was wronged by two decisions.
With a 2-0 victory over Orient on Tuesday, the Blues increased their lead at the top of League One to nine points.
The League One leaders’ task was made easier when Jack Currie was dismissed in the 12th minute for a challenge on Tomoki Iwata. Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Ethan Laird scored in the second half as Blues made their extra man pay.
A frustrated Wellens, who felt aggrieved with Currie’s red card and what he believed was a foul in the build-up to Gardner-Hickman’s opening goal, reflected: “I don’t understand how there’s hardly any Premier League games today, and there’s hardly any Championship games, why can’t we have a referee from that level? It’s a big ground, a big stadium, big supporter base.
“It’s a pull on Sweeney for the first one, so then Sweens pulls him back. He’s about to give a penalty and then they score.”
Wellens then implored reporters to ask him about the sending off. He commented: “Wow. I won’t mention anything to do with the referee’s performance today. In my opinion, it wasn’t a sending off. Jack kicked the ball first.
“Like I say, the Premier League refs aren’t going to come down, but why can’t we get a Championship referee who is used to this environment?”
Orient approached the game with ambition and lined up in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation but Wellens rejigged his approach after the red card. They switched to a 5-3-1 shape and withdrew their 15-goal top scorer Charlie Kelman.
I’m gutted for our supporters because they’ve had a horrific schedule,” Wellens added. “They’ve paid to go to Wrexham, they’ve paid to go to Bolton, they’ve paid to come here. Thanks to the EFL for rearranging that game, it’s a brutal set of fixtures.
“I’m gutted we never saw how good our players are. I thought we were on top and the decision is game changing. If there’s a team you don’t want to go up against in this league down to 10 men it’s this team because they are patient and spread you the full width of the pitch.”
