Larne confirm decision to appeal red card dished out to talisman during Linfield draw
Larne have confirmed their decision to appeal a red card dished out to Leroy Millar during Tuesday’s 1-1 Premiership draw against Linfield.
Millar had earlier put the Inver Reds ahead before his strike was cancelled out by Adam Frizzell and he was then sent off with 10 minutes left to play for a challenge on Ethan McGee.
Having recovered from a lengthy injury lay-off, Millar returned to action earlier this season and has made 21 league appearances to help his side establish top spot in the Premiership.
Gary Haveron’s men currently sit three points ahead of Coleraine at the summit as they look to claim a third Gibson Cup crown across the past four seasons.
Millar has been instrumental during a golden period of success at Inver Park and was set to miss crucial fixtures in the title run-in for Larne, but a challenge from Larne will now be decided on by the Irish FA.
“We can confirm that we have submitted a challenge to the IFA in relation to Leroy Millar’s red card against Linfield last night,” the club confirmed. “We will keep supporters informed of the outcome in due course.”
Larne chief Haveron blamed the reaction of Linfield players for Millar’s dismissal and believes a worrying trend of play-acting is starting to creep into the Irish League.
“The referee sprints over to send him (Millar) off, couldn’t wait to send him off,” Haveron told the club’s media channel. “I think it’s the player’s reaction.
"I see this more and more and more, diving, any slightest little contact...I think they’re watching too much Premier League football in England.
"As soon as you touch somebody they put their body across and hit the ground before there’s even contact in a lot of cases and I felt there was a lot of that tonight.
"It’s not Irish League. I know times have changed and football has moved on, but it’s not what I enjoy about Irish League football, people hitting the ground and rolling around, it’s not what the game is about.
"It’s about being fair and having a bit of integrity about you to play the game in the right way, but there seems to be this new trend of people taking the contact, hitting the ground and the referees are encouraging them to do it because of the number of soft free-kicks.
"That’s my opinion...it seemed to happen a lot there tonight.”