Allardyce ‘more than upset’

There was a very mixed review for referee Craig Pawson and his officiating team from Sam Allardyce after Sunderland had snatched a 1-1 draw at Stoke thanks to an injury-time Jermain Defoe penalty.

Allardyce said he was relieved that Pawson had given what he considered a blatant penalty at the end of the match.

But the Sunderland boss was fuming about two other decisions which he felt had denied Sunderland the chance to claim three points which would have kept them out of the Premier League drop zone.

Allardyce reckoned the visitors should have been awarded a penalty for handball in the first half and was adamant that there was a Stoke foul in the build-up to Marko Arnautovic’s 50th-minute goal which put the hosts in front.

“I am more than upset,” said Allardyce. “Because it [the decision-making] has not allowed us to continue in the game to try and get the three points, and we have ended up grasping a point at the end of it.

“The two big decisions for me are the [Geoff] Cameron handball on 30 minutes, where he sticks his hand above his head and touches it, and you can …

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