Cautionary tale leaves Sunderland cold

Jim Smith and Peter Reid were both left dumbfounded after their latest run-in with officialdom at Pride Park.

Referee Barry Knight incensed players and fans alike by acting like a traffic warden on piecework as he brandished 10 yellow cards - including seven to the home side - in Derby's scrappy 1-0 win over Sunderland.

Derby now face a statutory £25,000 FA fine for picking up the bookings, three of which came in as many second-half minutes following contentious offside decisions, while Sunderland will lose Don Hutchison for their FA Cup fifth-round tie with West Ham on February 20.

Reid is already without Alex Rae and Michael Gray following their dismissals against Manchester United in midweek, so it was hardly surprising that at the height of the action, the Sunderland manager and Smith could be seen 'consoling' each other on the touchline over the antics of Mr Knight and his flag-happy assistant.

'There was only one serious foul in the game, which should have been for GBH,' said Smith. 'But the referee didn't even award a foul and restarted play with a bounce-up.' That was after Derby skipper Darryl Powell suffered a broken nose following an horrific aerial clash with Danny Dichio.

A bemused Reid, whose team were undone by Craig Burley's 42nd-minute goal, said: 'Let's just say I have not seen the like of it before.'