MK Dons boss Karl Robinson has called for Charlton front-man Yaya Sanogo to be “banned for the rest of the season” after his red card in last night’s goalless draw at the Valley.
The Arsenal loanee was sent off in injury time for elbowing Dons defender Antony Kay off the ball – an action that was condemned as “disgusting” by the manager of the opposition.
Robinson said: “He’s clearly, off the ball, had a go and then a second one. Rob Hall too was clotheslined on the far side of the pitch. Some of the tackles were borderline assault. I was expecting to see the police in the tunnel at full-time.
“I know it’s about the fight and competing for survival in one of the most difficult leagues in Europe, but there has to be an element of control.
After scoring a hat-trick in a 4-3 home defeat to Reading two games before this clash, Sanogo will now serve an instant three-match ban for his dismissal, much to the disappointment of Addicks boss Jose Riga.
The home side are now seven points from safety after last night’s stalemate with only ten games to get out of the bottom three.
In a post-match interview, Jose Riga said of the red card: “[I’ve] not yet [seen the Sanogo incident], but he did something silly – apologised – so I suppose he did something. We don’t need this in our situation, certainly not.”
Riga returned to the capital for his second spell as Charlton boss in January earlier this year with the club having won only twice since August.
However in his ten league games in charge he has only been able to engineer two wins and the club are very much in danger of dropping down to third tier for the first time since 2009.
As for the Dons, they’re also still at risk of dropping straight back down to League One. They’re currently sitting just above the bottom three on 36 points – one point ahead of Rotherham who last night pulled off a surprise victory over promotion chasing Middlesbrough.
