However owner John Courtenay who was also involved in the fracas which occurred during the final moments of the game at Sincil Bank believes the whole incident has been blown out of proportion. United had three players sent off on Saturday and they were forced to sit in the directors' box with Courtenay as the dug-outs were full. Close to the end of the game, stewards in plain clothes asked the players and Courtenay to leave the box after which there was a brief scuffle in the tunnel as the players walked to the dressing rooms. Roddy Collins, who was close to the scene of the incident, claimed he and the Irish-born players were subjected to racial abuse during the game while United fans who described the Lincoln stewards as "knuckle dragging Neanderthals" said they were not wearing the correct uniforms and were acting as confrontational "bouncers". Lincoln chairman Rob Bradley condemned the actions of United's players and indicated his club would file a complaint to the FA. However the actions of the stewards and the allegations of racial abuse may well have more serious consequences for the home side. Courtenay told the press that one steward had threatened to punch him. He said attempts to bring action by the Imps would fail and claimed: "The only side that did anything wrong was Lincoln." Carlisle boss Collins was also incensed by the controversial performance of referee Paul Robinson from Hull. He sent off four players, three of them from United, who equalled the club record for sendings off in a single match, set by Ian Atkins's side at Scunthorpe in 2001. "The referee wanted a result for them (Lincoln) and he did everything in his power. He sent three off and gave a dubious penalty to them. The only thing missing was putting on a Lincoln jersey. The whole set-up at Lincoln was a joke. But justice was done in the end." Trevor Molloy's penalty in the 66th minute allowed United to claim their second away win of the week - beating their tally for the whole of last season already. United climbed to seventh place in the table, their highest league position for over five years. Picture from News & Star |
