Short fumes over red card decision

The red card which will rule Craig Short out of the Worthington Cup Final was almost too much for him to bear - but he may find it difficult to substantiate his allegation that Fulham striker Steve Marlet had cheated.

The Blackburn centre half's third sending-off of the season came after what looked like rather more than a playground push on Marlet in injury time of Fulham's 2-0 victory.

Rovers will decide today whether to appeal but as things stand, Short - and Turkey midfielder Tugay, who picked up his 10th booking of the season - will miss the Cardiff showdown with Spurs on Sunday week.

Yet, Short was adamant. 'The man cheated,' he said. 'I admit contact was made but the way he went down was unbelievable. Now I miss the final, the pinnacle of my career, and all because one pro took advantage of another.'

The defeat left Rovers in the bottom three and manager Graeme Souness said: 'Alarm bells are not ringing yet but where we let ourselves down is that we don't sense danger.'

One of the players he was talking about was David Dunn, the England Under 21 captain, who was over-shadowed by his opposite number Steed Malbranque, who scored Fulham's second goal.

Fulham assistant manager Christian Damiano, who was responsible for signing Malbranque, said: 'The ball is his friend. If he can keep this kind of performance, there is no limit what he can achieve.