Cooper | We have been on the wrong end of some poor decisions

Head coach Steve Cooper feels Swansea City are finding themselves on the wrong end of some rough refereeing justice at the moment.

The Swans drew 1-1 with Reading at the Liberty, with Andy Yiadom pegging them back in the final minute to cancel out Borja Baston’s early header.

However, Cooper felt the Royals should have been reduced to 10 men before the interval when Lucas Boye – earlier booked for bringing down Connor Roberts – escaped a second yellow from referee Keith Stroud despite cynically pulling back Matt Grimes as the Swansea captain sought to counter.

That came on the back of Jake Bidwell’s red card at Bristol City, which Cooper felt had clearly been the wrong decision yet was not overturned by a Football Association regulatory commission following Swansea’s appeal.

And Cooper was left ruing a piece of officiating for the second weekend in a row.

“They should definitely have been down to 10 men,” he said.

“We are definitely on the end of some poor decisions at the moment.

“I was pleased we had an experienced referee today for the first time, as we seem to be getting the ones who are maybe a bit new to it.

“But we still got the same luck.

“I don’t want to dwell on it too much. It was a clear second yellow card and the referee has made an awful decision.

“But at the same time I just want to focus on our players and our performance, what we did well today and where we can improve.”

Cooper also revealed he had spoken to referee Stroud at half-time for an explanation as to why Boye had stayed on the field, with Reading boss Jose Gomes taking the player off upon the resumption of play after the interval.

“I spoke to him politely at half-time. I have come across him before, he is a really experienced referee and a decent guy, but I think he knew he had let himself down a bit,” he added.

“He is going to have his excuses and his reasons, but I could tell he and the fourth official knew they probably were not at their best.”