Blackburn Rovers boss reacts to Dennis controversial red card in Norwich draw

Blackburn Rovers manager Valerien Ismael has weighed in on the controversial red card shown to Nigerian forward Emmanuel Dennis during Saturday afternoon’s 1-1 draw against Norwich City at Ewood Park.

Dennis, who began the match on the bench, was introduced in the 62nd minute, replacing Tyrhys Dolan as Rovers pushed for a winning goal. However, his appearance was cut short when he received a second yellow card five minutes before the end of regulation time.

The Nigerian international had been booked just minutes after coming on and was subsequently sent off after catching Norwich defender Ben Chrisene with a high-boot challenge while attempting to connect with Ryan Hedges’ deflected cross inside the box.

Following Dennis’ dismissal, Norwich capitalized on their numerical advantage as Ante Crnac raced into the box in the 90th minute to slot home Emi Marcondes' low cross, putting the visitors ahead.

However, Blackburn responded in dramatic fashion, with Andi Weimann glancing Yuri Ribeiro’s pass past Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn deep into stoppage time to salvage a crucial point.

In his post-match reaction, Ismael expressed his disagreement with the referee’s decision but chose to focus on his team’s resilience.

"From my view, I think he didn't touch him really, so I think the defender made it well," Ismael remarked in quotes relayed by Lancashire Telegraph.

”But it is what it is, in that situation you just need to deal with the situation, just to give straight away the command to the player."

"As I say, at the end we deserved the point, but it feels like more a win, because the boost and the mentality the player shows, they show me that they are ready to compete for the play-off.”

He further praised his team’s spirit and urged them to maintain the same energy in their final stretch of games.

"We have to keep that, because when I talk about the no-regret attitude, it was exactly that. We finished the game and we can look at ourselves and say we gave everything, and now we still have 11 games to do exactly the same.”

Dennis' red card serves as a setback in his efforts to revitalize his career at Blackburn following a challenging spell at Nottingham Forest. The forward, who joined Rovers in the winter transfer window, will now miss their upcoming fixture as he serves a suspension.
 

Adeyemi Adewale

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