Hunt Harshly Sent Off (Staunton)

Stephen Hunt was harshly sent off for the Republic of Ireland last night, so harshly that it left Steve Staunton less than amused.

“It was a very harsh red card and we were unfortunate with Doyler (Kevin Doyle) hitting the post and Paul McShane’s effort,” Staunton said as published on readingfc.co.uk.

“Stephen has won the ball and his momentum took him through. The player acted injured but was up running around when Hunty had got off the pitch.

“There was a lot of play-acting and I wasn’t happy with their centre-half Radoslav Kovac. The referee looked like he was only going to give him a yellow card until Kovac said something to him.

Hunt had only been on the field for 30 minutes, coming on as a substitute after 38 minutes, going off to a red card after 68 in Ireland’s 1-0 defeat to the Czech Republic, a result that all but ends their hopes of qualification for the European Championships.

Despite his sending off Staunton was pleased with his performance and he feels Hunt offers the Irish something different when he comes on from the bench.

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