Exclusive: Keith Hackett reacts to major Bristol City v Sunderland controversy
Trai Hume’s sending off left Sunderland fighting an uphill battle against Bristol City on Good Friday.
Sunderland are now three games without a win in the Championship, having fell to a 2-1 defeat away to Bristol City on Good Friday.
Eliezer Mayenda, who has been remarkable all season for Sunderland, gave the Black Cats a surprise lead, before goals from Rob Dickie and Ross McCrorie sealed all three points for the hosts.
However, an incident that occurred before any of that left Sunderland in a difficult situation.
Hume sent off in a controversial incident v Bristol City
Sunderland fans were delighted with the team that Regis Le Bris sent out at Ashton Gate, and for the first five minutes, it was looking promising.
That was seconds before a long ball over the top of the Sunderland defence saw Hume challenge (if you can even call it that) Nakhi Wells, with the Bristol City man racing through on goal.
Referee Oliver Langford wasted no time in brandishing a straight red card to the Northern Ireland defender, in a decision that left everyone stunned, though Keith Hackett thinks it was the right decision.
| Bristol City v Sunderland | Goals | Shots | xG | Possession |
| Bristol City | 2 | 27 | 2.36 | 77% |
| Sunderland | 1 | 4 | 0.37 | 23% |
Speaking to Mackem News, he said: “The question to ask when you are in the referee’s position is, could the contact between the Sunderland player and his opponent have been avoided. It appears that the Sunderland player’s movement was to make contact with his opponent, and the challenge is deemed careless.
“That careless action by the Sunderland player is, in law, a foul. The referee then has to consider the position of the attacking player brought to the ground with no defenders in a position to make a challenge.
“Then the probability of the attacking player been able to control the ball and have a shot in goal meets the criteria for the denial of a goal scoring opportunity.”
Sunderland need to get back to winning ways
To come away from that game with a defeat, it feels like Sunderland have been cheated.
However, there are still aspects of the performance that need to improve ahead of the playoffs, which, as everyone knows, is a lottery.
Form goes out of the window at large, and the best team over the course of 180 minutes progresses to the final.
With that said, entering them with confidence will be far more beneficial than not.