Northampton boss Jim Mallinder believes that Manu Tuilagi should have been sent off during his side's defeat to Leicester.
Saints boss thinks Tuilagi should have been sent off
Northampton boss Jim Mallinder believes that Manu Tuilagi should have been sent off during his side's Aviva Premiership semi-final with Leicester.
The Tigers centre escaped with a yellow card for a punch on Chris Ashton in the first half of the Saints' 11-3 defeat at Welford Road.
Ashton was also sent to the sin bin for his part in the incident but Mallinder insists that the card should have been a different colour for Tuilagi.
"First of all, you can't have players taking players out, and you can't be hitting players directly to the head, punching," he said.
"Chris Ashton did go over and give him a push, but you cannot react with three punches to the head without a red card.
Effect
"It would have had an effect on the game, because they would have been down to 14 men. But Leicester played well in the second half - it is fine lines.
"When you come to places like this, you don't get the 50-50s. I think the referee did go to his assistant. All I know is I have seen it, and to me, it is a clear red card. What did Ashton get a yellow card for - pushing?
"It's a big game, live on television and it should be one of the highlights of the Premiership season. I guess the referees and referees' assessors will have a real good look at it and work as hard as they can to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Alesana Tuilagi sealed Leicester's victory with a late try and Mallinder must now pick his players up for the Heineken Cup final in Cardiff in just one week's time.
He added: "We've lost a close game to a good side. We will have a good week, and it's a one-off game next weekend now."
Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill claimed not to have seen the Manu Tuilagi incident, but brushed off suggestions it was a flashpoint in the game.
Yellow card
He said: "I was watching the ball, but the assistant referee clearly saw it and deemed it as a yellow card offence. I haven't seen the replays of it.
"It was a good performance against a really good side. Let's talk about that shall we?
"Let's talk about how we controlled the game, let's talk about Alesana's try, let's talk about the scrum contest, not all the crap you boys want to talk about and make headlines out of.
"He (Manu Tuilagi) is a quality young player who does what he does exceptionally well. We will have to see what happens. We are guessing, aren't we?
"Our attitude to defend and not let them get any cheap points, and our tenacity at the breakdown was very good. We controlled the gain-line really well, and that was our best all-round performance for a long time.
"We wanted to put them under pressure. You stop them from getting on the front foot and they are not as effective as they can be."
