Pulis wants card-waving axed

Pulis wants card-waving axed

Published Jan. 19, 2012 7:17 a.m. ET

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney and Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, in particular, have hit the headlines of late for their actions during recent matches.

Mancini described his gesticulation during his side's 1-0 win at Wigan on Monday as "normal", after Wigan's Maynor Figueroa deliberately handled, denying Sergio Aguero a run on goal.

However, such actions could be deemed as unprofessional, and disrespectful towards any referee.

Pulis pulled no punches with his thoughts on the subject as he said: "It's something that's come into the game that should be stopped, and the sooner the FA do that the better.

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"Sadly, it's the way it's gone, and for me it's unacceptable.

"Let the referee officiate and decide whether it's a yellow, red card or a fair challenge, and the rest of us get on with it."

Pulis, meanwhile, has expressed bitter disappointment at the ticket allocation afforded to Stoke by Valencia for the second leg of the Europa League knockout tie at the Mestalla on February 22.

City have been given just 2,300 tickets for a stadium that holds 55,000, leaving Pulis to remark: "It's disappointing for everybody within the club.

"We thought we would get a (larger) percentage of the crowd. That's not the case and I don't know why.

"I'm actually meeting Tony (Scholes, chief executive) today to discuss the situation.

"I'll see what he has to say because we would have taken, and still could take, a hell of a lot more people than the allocation they've given us.

"This is the first time we've had a European game where you could say people can comfortably travel there and back and not be affected by it.

"So I really do feel for the supporters because when the draw was made, to pull out Valencia, the third best team in Spain, a hell of a lot of people would have looked at it and thought 'Well, this is the one we'll make an effort for and go and watch'.

"Given the allocation we were hoping for, what we've been given is a massive disappointment."

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