Sheff Utd boss Wilder would appeal against a touchline ban

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder says he would appeal against any touchline ban for the red card he received at half-time in Tuesday's 2-1 home defeat by Southampton.

The 58-year-old was sent to the stands for kicking the ball into the crowd, which struck a home supporter, in frustration at a penalty being awarded against his side in the first half - and has since expressed his disappointment at the decision.

"If I approached the referee at half-time and had a right pop at him, if I picked the ball out my hands and booted it at him or at the fourth official, then I would expect the necessary punishment and I won't appeal," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"But I will appeal because, as you've seen, I've nonchalantly knocked it back - it's got a bit of a flier on it.

"I've gone straight into the stand, I've apologised to the guy, everything's all sorted and I've turned around and got a red card put in my face.

"If there is a charge, I will appeal it and I'll be OK for the Hull City game back where I want to be because I didn't enjoy not being able to help the team [in the second half].

Wilder was also critical of the appointment of referee Adam Herczeg, who has been overseeing matches in the English Football League (EFL) since 2022-23, and was in charge of his third Championship game this season.

"We all make mistakes, managers and players included, but it seems we are a testing ground for referees," he added.

"If there are up-and-coming referees, why hasn't the referee had more Championship games this season?

"This is a team [Southampton] that has come out of the Premier League against a team that went incredibly close in getting to the Premier League last season. This is a top-notch Championship game - regardless of league positions, it's high-profile.

"There's Stephen Martin, who is a top-class Championship referee being a fourth official at one of the games [Bristol City v Ipswich].

"Why aren't we being given an experienced referee for this fixture? This is the thing I don't get - the appointment system.

"We all know from experience the best ones go under the radar. Well, certainly, he didn't go under the radar on Tuesday night."