Charlie Austin is clearly unhappy with Joey Barton, who he has accused of costing Queens Park Rangers dearly by getting sent-off on Saturday afternoon.
Barton rushed over to defend Darnell Furlong at the KC Stadium, after the young debutant was penalised for a hefty challenge on Nikica Jelavic. A number of players had gathered around referee Anthony Taylor following this incident, but the Hoops captain took it one step further when he aimed a low blow to Tom Huddlestone’s groin area which led to him being shown a red card.
At the time the capital club trailed the Tigers 1-0, and although Austin levelled the score with his 14th Premier League goal of the season, the hosts took advantage of their extra man by netting a late winner through Dame N’Doye. This was a vital three points for Steve Bruce’s side who are now four points clear of the relegation zone, but for Rangers, it was another frustrating away defeat.
“It’s a silly sending off,” said Austin of Barton. “It’s kind of cost us the game. He’s the villain and rightly so for getting sent off. He’s got to deal with it. He’s going to miss the next three games and he’s an important player for us, he’s our captain. He’s just held his hands up and said sorry…There’s only so many times you can say sorry. We move on, we’ve got a squad and that’s the main thing.”
This was the sixth Premier League red card of Barton’s career, and he took to twitter to apologise on Saturday evening, claiming the incident had left him ‘gutted.’ The 32-year-old, formerly of Manchester City and Newcastle United, now looks set to miss three London derbies: at home to Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, and away to Crystal Palace, before returning to face Everton.
