CARLISLE boss John Ward was left questioning the decision to send off defender David Raven following his side's 2-1 defeat to Southend on Saturday.

Raven saw red following a strong tackle on Blues midfielder Nicky Bailey midway through the second half when the teams were locked level at 1-1.

And Ward is not sure it was the right decision.

"I haven't seen it again on the video yet so I'm not sure what happened but we were on top just before it happened," he said.

"It certainly affected the game and I'm not convinced it was the correct decision.

"I'm standing by David because he isn't that type of player either but I can see where the referee is coming from if he has adjudged him to have gone over the top of the ball.

"All I will say is that there were plenty of heated moments in the game and they weren't all from us."

Raven was far more critical of the decision and accused Bailey of play-acting to get him sent off.

"Their lad has started rolling around on the floor after the tackle even though I got the ball. I'm just absolutely devastated about the whole thing, it's killed my season," he fumed.

Southend manager Steve Tilson sympathised with the home-side's anger and was also unsure about the decision to dismiss Raven.

"I'm not sure whether or not it was a red card if I'm honest. He went in studs showing but if it was one of my players then I would have been disappointed," he said.

"It doesn't seem like you can tackle at all in the game these days."