Neal Ardley could not hide his anger at the controversial penalty which denied Notts County victory against Boreham Wood and led to Connell Rawlinson being sent off.
The Magpies were leading 2-1 with just a minute on the clock when Kabongo Tshimanga burst clear only for Rawlinson to commit a foul which led to referee Lewis Smith awarding a spot-kick.
Sorba Thomas scored from the spot to snatch a point for the visitors who had seen their early lead given to them by Justin Shaibu wiped out by two goals from Kyle Wootton.
Having looked at the incident post-match, Ardley was hugely disappointed with the decision particularly as he claimed that the incident happened outside the box.
He was also unhappy that striker Wes Thomas was not given a penalty of his own in the opening 45 minutes.
“The ref has killed us,” he said.
“I don’t normally speak ill of referees, but he has cost us the game.
“The foul is a yard outside the box, he has sent a player off, there is a recovering defender and if the striker takes another touch Damian McCrory probably gets his body across him.
“It’s a horrendous decision.
“Added to that, there is a clear-cut penalty for Wes Thomas in the first half.
“We question why players dive and why the game has become a sport full of cheats.
“You don’t get anything unless you dive. Wes gets taken out in the box, tries to stay on his feet eventually goes down, gets given nothing.
“He might as well have thrown himself to the floor.
“I’ve said to referees and officials before, they are the reason why players dive.
“They are the main part of it and the ref has cost us.”
