NOTTINGHAM Forest boss Frank Clark accused referee Paul Alcock of leniency after last night's simmering relegation scrap erupted in a first-half flare-up.

Clark inferred that Blackburn Rovers skipper Tim Sherwood should have been sent off for retaliation to a Stuart Pearce hatchet-man tackle on Kevin Gallacher.

But the City Ground boss did not complain about the referee's decision to caution his own skipper and Rovers midfielder Sherwood for his reaction.

But he believed Sherwood had run over and "punched" Pearce, which Sky TV cameras showed to be a push not a punch.

The anxieties of being at the bottom were bubbling under the surface until Sherwood reacted to a terrible challenge by Pearce on Gallacher. He should not have done so, but the cameras cleared him of anything more than a shove on Pearce.

In my opinion, the referee handled it well, as did the other players who moved in swiftly to calm things down.

Clark, however, demanded that footballers and managers must know where they stood with referees in a season when red cards have been brandished freely on some occasions, yet not on others.

"It's wonderful, the new spirit the game is being refereed in these days," said Clark sarcastically.

"You can now run 40 yards and punch somebody and you don't get sent off.

"I hate to see any player get sent off, but I have never seen that.

"I can't even remember that happening in the sixties - a strange decision."

Asked if he really thought that Sherwood had thrown a punch, Clark said: "It looked like a punch to me.

"There was David Elleray on Sunday (Arsenal v Spurs) and if they are all going to do it, great, I am not complaining.

"But I'll tell you this. Six weeks ago, there would have been two sent off yesterday and a couple sent off tonight.

"As long as we know where we are and if they are all going to do it, smashing.

"There's nobody stronger than me on trying to keep 11 versus 11 on the pitch and as long as we know where we stand and they are all going to do it, fine.

"But it's definitely changed in the last few weeks, in my experience anyway, which is marvellous.

"I think it's part of the referee's job to try to keep 22 players on the pitch as far as possible. "Just as long as we know where we stand."

Rovers didn't get involved in that particular debate but they were concerned about the "stoppage time" which was played and enabled Forest to snatch a dramatic late equaliser.

Caretaker-boss Tony Parkes, who has now steered the team to a three-match unbeaten run, however, refused to criticise the match official.

He said: "We thought we had played too much injury time but we don't know when the referee stops his watch.

"We have to look at ourselves and the defending was very poor for that goal. We can't keep blaming everyone else."

Parkes admitted that he was considering throwing former Forest player Lars Bohinen - jeered by his ex-fans - into the fray before the two goals that put Rovers in front were scored.

The animosity towards Bohinen just added to the tension on the night.

Read Peter White's big match verdict elsewhere on these pages

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.