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Warnock asked to explain linesman rant

LONDON - Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock was asked by the Football Association on Tuesday to explain his criticisms of a linesman following the team’s FA Cup draw against Aston Villa last weekend.

Cash-strapped Palace, whose bid to gain promotion from the second-tier Championship was derailed recently when the south London club suffered a points deduction after going into administration, were winning 2-1 against their Premier League opponents before Stiliyan Petrov salvaged a draw for Villa with a header from a corner three minutes from time at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

However, it appeared Palace should have had a goalkick, rather than Villa a corner, and Warnock slammed linesman Trevor Massey for the mistake, saying the assistant referee deserved to be banned.

‘We have asked Neil Warnock for his observations regarding his media comments after Crystal Palace’s match against Aston Villa,’ said an FA spokesperson. ‘He has until February 23 to respond.’

Immediately after the match, the 61-year-old Warnock said: ‘The second goal was a disgrace.

‘We’ve got a Premiership referee and we’ve got Mr Massey who was laughing his head off all day with the flag. The ball comes off (Nathan) Delfouneso and neither of them wanted to make a decision.

‘They wait and wait to see which way to give it. Then, a Premier League team are losing 2-1, so we’ll give it to them. That’s a disgrace. He should be banned for weeks, Mr Massey, because all he could do was smile.

‘It’s disappointing. It’s bitter. I’ve been told that if Mr Massey got it wrong, he’ll be suspended. I said to him: ‘will you think about us when you’re sitting and watching on your settee.’

‘Does he realise what it means to a club who can’t afford this, that or another and we’re giving everything, and we’re not let down by anything that’s a football matter, and yet we’re let down by incompetence?’

However, a day later, Warnock gave an interview to BBC Radio Five Live in which he said: ‘My wife reminded me that in the last round we got a corner against Wolves and it was a goal-kick and we scored the first goal that way.’