Football: Bay coach no angel at officials' table

TIMEOUT: Coach Brett Angell banished to the stands but still yells out to the team much to the amusement of the fans around him. PHOTO/Warren Buckland

One thing's for sure - the Hawke's Bay United coach is no angel in the chapters of the football officials' record books.

Yesterday referee John Rowbury gave Brett Angell the marching orders from the coach's dog box in just the 13th minute following instruction from fourth official Anthony O'Riley that the coach was still questioning decisions on the field during the ASB Premiership match against Wanderers Soccer Club at Park Island, Napier.

The referees had warned Angell a couple of times before during the game but to no avail. The former English Premier League striker has come under intense scrutiny from officials in the past few home games and told in no uncertain terms that if he didn't occupy his seat he would be sent off.

Yesterday the officials lost patience with a vociferous Angell who had left his official perch in the technical area before finding a spot a couple of rows up the main stand where he barked a few more times before moving to a hospitality booth.

Assistant coach Leon Birnie occupied the hot seat in the box and communicated with him every so often.

Asked what his take was on it, Angell was bereft of ideas as to why he was sent off.

"I can't quite understand, within 15 minutes of the game, how I could have done as much wrong to warrant being sent to the stands.

"I'm just voicing an opinion but obviously I'm not allowed to [do that] about the game," he said, adding he was merely questioning the consistency of the ref's decisions.

He said the sending off had robbed the attention from what the players were doing on the field.

"I don't have any issues. I just see what goes on and I want a little bit of consistency on what I consider to be consistency in the refereeing department."

Angell said fouls from both teams were a given in any game and he had no qualms about that.

"It almost seems a card is produced for our team a lot quicker than the opposition."

While they called the game as they saw it, he felt they tended to gift the opposition an advantage.

"We don't want to make a big song and dance out of it ... but it's disappointing because they can ask why can't their coach be there.

"I've not sworn at anyone or effing blown at anyone but raised issues around my observation."