'I'll ask him when I see him' - Three red cards given in dramatic finale as Brighton held by Nottingham Forest
Brighton assistant manager Andrew Crofts said he did not know why Fabian Hurzeler was sent off in a dramatic finale to an entertaining match against Nottingham Forest.
With the game tied at 2-2, Morgan Gibbs White was sent off after a late challenge on Joao Pedro – when the Nottingham Forest man was already on a yellow.
The tackle sparked a furious reaction from the Albion coaching staff, including Hurzeler, but referee Robert Jones indicated he thought Gibbs-White got the ball.
He very quickly changed his mind and gave Gibbs-White his marching orders – which then caused the player to confront fourth official Anthony Taylor and Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo was equally seething.
Both managers were subsequently sent off.
Asked about the incident post-match, Andrew Crofts told the BBC: "Late in the game where we're trying to push to win the game and there's a foul right by our bench. The player is going for the ball but it felt like a foul. Their bench felt differently.
"I didn't see too much of it but the referee sent the managers off.”
Asked why Hurzeler was sent off, Crofts said: “I'm not 100% sure, I haven't seen it back.
"I'll ask him when I see him.”
Chris Wood gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot after Carlos Baleba’s clumsy foul.
Albion responded well and were ahead by half-time – with Jack Hinshelwood scoring a fine header and Danny Welbeck curling in a brilliant free-kick.
However, after failing to find a third goal, the hosts were pegged back. Ramón Sosa was the man to put the finishing touch on a swift counter attack.
"We're frustrated,” Crofts said.
"We felt we should have won the game. We created lots of chances. We probably would have wanted to create more chances.
"We scored two very good goals. Fantastic header and a top, top free-kick. We felt on top in the second half and tried to get a third goal to kill the game.
"We can definitely defend those moments better. On the whole we defended very well because they didn't have many opportunities but it's about trying to do it 100 per cent of the time."
On a positive note, Crofts said Hurzeler ‘has been great to work with’. The German is still unbeaten since becoming a Premier League manager.
Crofts said: “I've learned so much from him in a short amount of times. He brought a lot of new ideas into the club. He's really ambitious. It's a nice place to be."