Damien Duff has criticised the standard of refereeing in the League of Ireland following Shelbourne's 1-0 loss to Derry City on Friday night.
Paddy Barrett was sent off four minutes into the second half after picking up a second yellow card. The defender was adjudged to have struck Jamie McGonigle with an elbow as they battled for a ball in the air, but Duff said the decision was "not acceptable".
He told RTE: "I didn't think it was a foul. I thought McGonigle tried to back into him. Paddy's come round the front because he's a big strong boy and he's got punished for that.
READ MORE: Derry City go top as Ryan Graydon goal sees off Shelbourne
"Second yellow, red card, game over. It's not acceptable."
The Shels boss then criticised the overall standard of refereeing in the league, adding: "Again, it's a refereeing decision that I don't accept. I don't accept the standard of refereeing in this country.
"We're let down again. It's just a poor, poor decision. I don't know what they'd be seeing at times.
"And it's not just me saying it, the fans in the stadium whether it be home or away, I'm sure Ruaidhri [Higgins] has said it many times himself, other opposing managers and coaches, so it's not acceptable.
"We're trying to up the standards. The fans are amazing in every ground, not just Shelbourne fans, [but] every ground in the country there's a sell-out week in, week out. Standards are going through the roof. Referees need to come with us."
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