Aston Villa’s Chris Herd has been on the harsh side of the law before
Friday 28th October 2011, 3:51PM BST.
You could forgive Chris Herd for thinking that referees have got it in for him as he prepares to press his claims for a place in Aston Villa’s starting line-up at Sunderland.
The young Australian was wrongly sent off on his fifth senior start for Villa against Albion last weekend when referee Phil Dowd – having been alerted by his assistant to what he thought was a stamp on Baggies defender Jonas Olsson – showed him a straight red card.
Fortunately, Herd’s dismissal was subsequently rescinded by the FA which enabled the 22-year-old to take his place in the squad for the trip to the Stadium of Light.
But the Villa academy graduate revealed it was not the first time he has been on the end of a harsh decision from the men in black.
He said: “I had one when I was on loan to Port Vale a few years ago, but that couldn’t get rescinded, so I’ve been the victim of something like it before! You can only appeal a straight red.
“I think you have got to learn from everything that happens, good and bad, and it makes you a better player and a better person once you’ve been through these things.”
To read our stories in full, log in to the premium 24 website.
UK Sport
Latest Blog — A week is a long time in football
This time last week we were staring down the barrel, third from bottom with a worse record than at the same stage last year, writes Saddlers blogger Mark Jones.
Saddlers Blog
Business Awards
Book a Business Awards table
Join our celebrations of the region's best in business on Thursday March 22 - book your table now
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Express & Star and Shropshire Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases
OUR NEW APP
Get the new E&S app
Download the Express & Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
expressandstar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
