Coppell hits out at Hleb

Royals boss unhappy with Gunners midfielder

Last updated: 19th April 2008

Coppell hits out at Hleb

Coppell: Unimpressed

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Reading boss Steve Coppell felt Alexander Hleb escaped after clashing with Graeme Murty in Arsenal's 2-0 victory.

Television replays showed Hleb catching the Royals skipper with his hand as the pair tangled during the second half of the match at Emirates Stadium.

Reading have been dragged right back into the relegation dogfight by their latest defeat and Bolton's victory over Middlesbrough.

Emmanuel Adebayor and Gilberto Silva were on target for the home side as Reading struggled to cope with the Gunners' flowing football.

But Coppell was left to bemoan the second-half incident which left Murty on the deck and furious with the Arsenal midfielder, with referee Peter Walton and his assistants not seeing what happened.

Slapped

Coppell said: "Hleb slapped him across the neck and it is clearly visible on the video. It is there to see.

"I don't know how the procedure is at the Football Association. It seems some mystery man phones in and says 'have a look at the tape'.

"The whole process is unexplainable and arbitrary. Maybe someone in their front room somewhere will do something about it."