The Saints could have been reduced to 10-men late in the first half.
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is convinced Morgan Schneiderlin should have been sent off in the goalless draw with Southampton.
Schneiderlin’s two-footed lunge on Hammers midfielder Mohamed Diame in the first half of the Premier League stalemate went unpunished by referee Andre Marriner, not even whistling to award a free kick, and left Allardyce incensed .
“We feel a bit disappointed that Schneiderlin is still on the pitch – we didn’t even get a free kick – because it’s a two-footed challenge,” the fumed to the Southern Daily Echo.
“(With) two-footed challenges, we have been told by everyone in the referees’ department from Mike Riley down, there is no other choice but a straight red – this one we didn’t even get a free kick.
“I can’t for the life of me (understand) – Andre (Marriner) is such an experienced referee now, how he didn’t see that.
The Frenchman pleaded his innocence after the match and maintains the tackle was fair, saying: “I need to see the image again but at that moment I didn’t think I had done anything wrong,”
“I didn’t have the feeling at the time that it was bad, I am not a player who commits those kind of fouls.
“If I touched him in any way I apologise but I have not the feeling that I did anything wrong.”
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