Wayne Rooney reacts to Plymouth Argyle flashpoint in Cardiff City hammering | OneFootball

Wayne Rooney discussed Ibrahim Cissoko's red card in Plymouth's heavy defeat at Cardiff.

Plymouth Argyle boss Wayne Rooney was unhappy with Perry Ng’s role in Ibrahim Cissoko’s red card during their 5-0 defeat at Cardiff City.

The Welsh side ran out comfortable winners against Plymouth, but a turning point undoubtedly came in the 41st minute, as Cissoko was shown a straight red after an altercation with Ng.

The Plymouth man was down on the floor when Ng kicked the ball at him, and it prompted an angry response, with Cissoko appearing to grab the Bluebirds man around the throat, which saw him dismissed.

Wayne Rooney reacts to key moment in Plymouth’s defeat at Cardiff

Argyle were two down at the time of the red card, so they faced a battle to get back in the game anyway. However, it felt like any chance they had of getting a result ended once they were down to ten men.

So, it was a crucial moment in the clash, and speaking to Wales Online, Plymouth chief Rooney had his say on the incident, and he was keen to highlight Ng’s role.

“He has reacted - the player has been quite clever and very dangerous, I feel. He has kicked the ball at Ibs on purpose. That could have been a different colour card to what he got. For Ibs, he reacted in the wrong way and picked up a red card. It's difficult in the emotion of a game. Sometimes players give those reactions.

“We've been in the dressing room and everything in the dressing room is private, but he is disappointed. When you get a red card for something where I've been there as a player, instances boil over and it's not nice. He knows he's reacted to something he shouldn't have, and it's cost him.

“I think every goal was avoidable, but today we have to give Cardiff credit as a team, they deserve the victory, sometimes you just hold your hands up.”

Ibrahim Cissoko must take responsibility for moment of madness

Rooney has been kind to Cissoko here, as he hasn’t thrown him under the bus, but he will surely be fuming with the player.

He has been a real positive for Plymouth this season, so to lose him for three games is going to be a significant blow, and it was real stupidity from the player to react in the manner he did.

Yes, Ng shouldn’t have kicked the ball at him, but these things happen in football, and the Cardiff man was trying to provoke a reaction, and he got what he wanted.

So, Cissoko needs to be sensible, as not only did it end any chance they had of getting a point today, but, as outlined above, Rooney is going to have to do without a key figure for three games.

Plymouth must improve from Cardiff horror show

To his credit, Rooney didn’t let the red card deflect from what was a terrible performance from his side.

As he said, they just didn’t do the basics right defensively, and it’s a real shame that they couldn’t build on what was a great win against Blackburn prior to the international break.

But, the boss won’t overreact, and attention will quickly turn to a tough trip at Millwall in the week.