Newcastle manager John Carver went on an astonishing rant yesterday after his side's abysmal showing in their 3-0 loss to Leicester City which dragged the Toon back into the relegation dogfight.
Central to Carver's criticism was defender Mike Williamson, who he accused of getting sent off on purpose:
I thought he meant it. When the ball went on to that left-hand side my first reaction was don't do it. He did it. Vardy was off the pitch, Willo was off the pitch, the ball was off the pitch. There was no need to do it and I'm not accepting that.
I told him that to his face. I don't want to go into his reaction.
Now though, Williamson has denied that the red card was intentional. He was quick to apologise for the tackle, and is adamant that there was no intent to injure Leicester's Jamie Vardy:
There was absolutely no intent to hurt Jamie or get sent off. But I recognise that I should have been more composed and measured in my determination to win the ball. Unfortunately, it did the one thing that I never wanted to do, and that was to hurt the team.
I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to the Newcastle United supporters and my fellow team-mates for getting sent off.
Williamson will now be suspended for two of Newcastle's remaining three games, as they try to avoid the dreaded drop for the 2nd time in six years, but it remains to be seen whether he'll be able to repair the damage in the relationship between himself and his manager.
See Also: Video: Newcastle Manager Accuses Newcastle Player Of Getting Sent Off On Purpose
[BBC]
