Stevenage manager Steve Evans criticised referee Anthony Backhouse after he sent off defender Nathan Thompson early on in the 2-0 League One defeat at lowly Reading.
Thompson saw red in only the 22nd minute for his second yellow card and Reading went on to ease past their 10-man opponents with a brace of goals from 20-year-old striker Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan either side of the interval.
Evans said: “We were down to 10 men and we had a few players on yellow cards and Reading had none for similar challenges. It was a mystery to me.
“I think that’s what refereeing provides, isn’t it – mysteries.
“For the second goal, we get beaten by a ball over the top that we wouldn’t normally concede. From then on it’s hard for us. We needed a little break to try to get back in the game.
“If it had stayed 1-0, we could have had a go and thrown a few men forward and gambled a bit. But when it’s 2-0, it’s a pretty much impossible task.
“In the end though, we can’t blame anyone else for the defeat but ourselves.
“But there was a game-changing decision [the red card], wasn’t there, that he [the referee] gets wrong.
“I’ll go and see him but there’s just been decisions that are baffling.”
Reading secured back-to-back home victories having defeated Cheltenham 1-0 on Tuesday.
Manager Ruben Selles said: “Our opponent was a really good team who we knew had had a perfect start to the season.
“We knew we had to match their physicality in certain situations, especially in the set-plays and the long balls.
“We then had to benefit from that with our own transitions. And we had to use our strengths in the game, I think the boys understood that.
“I think they understood perfectly the roles of everyone and so we were very happy with the performance and the three points.
“It is always important to try to get the first goal before half-time.
“But after the sending-off, we had to analyse how Stevenage would adjust to that. It’s not always easy against 10 players.
“One of the things we are learning as a team is what to do when we are facing those situations.
“When the opponent has one less player, we need to keep the ball and force them into some pressing situations. Like for the second goal, when we got that space.
“After that, it was just about keeping our tempo.
“Of course, it was a challenge for our youngsters – as it was in the last game [versus Cheltenham].
“We need to get used to whatever the opponent may propose and how you can match it.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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