Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom has jumped to the defence of Manchester City loanee James McAtee after his strong tackle sparked a brawl in the 1-0 loss to Coventry on Wednesday night.
The 20-year-old’s challenge on Fankaty Dabo on 38 minutes prompted a shoving match between players, which ended with the midfielder being shown a yellow card despite protests from the hosts calling for a red.
The Blades went on to lose to an 87th-minute Martyn Waghorn penalty to extend their winless run to five games. After the game, Coventry boss Mark Robins said he was told by club analysts that McAtee was off the ground when he made the challenge, although admitted that it “didn’t look like it was going to be a red card at that time”.
