McKenna: The referee should not place themselves at the center of the match

In the 10th round of the Premier League, Ipswich Town drew 1-1 with Leicester City. After the match, Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna gave an interview.

McKenna stated, "I think Phillips getting sent off was the decisive moment of the match. Clearly, when it was 11 against 11, we were the better team, and we should have been leading 2-0. I believe that Fatouma's challenge on Chaplin was a clear penalty that should have been awarded immediately. He made direct contact with Chaplin's abdomen. I think there’s no debate about that. Moreover, with that bouncing ball, both players have the right to contest it, and Phillips was already trying to withdraw... Given the context at that moment, issuing another yellow card was unacceptable; I believe the referee should not put himself at the center of the game."

He went on to say, "We haven’t won in 10 matches, but in those 10 matches, we have managed to get points in 5 of them, and we have been competitive in about 8 of them."