20 April 2023 , 07:29
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Former Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen was sent off for his part in a 30-man brawl during Swansea's victory over Preston in the Championship on Wednesday night.
Allen, who had been substituted earlier in the game, got into a scuffle with visiting manager Ryan Lowe after Preston failed to put the ball out for a Swansea injury. The incident prompted players and staff from both sides to get involved, with as many as 30 individuals rushing towards the dugouts.
The Wales international is in his second stint with Swansea, having followed former Swans boss Brendan Rodgers to Liverpool in 2012. The incident came after the midfielder reacted to being pushed by Lowe, and ended with Allen and Lowe both being shown red cards by referee Oliver Langford.
Allen had earlier scored for Swansea, putting them 2-0 up with his first goal since rejoining the club last summer following a six-year stint on the books of Stoke City. Russell Martin's side were 3-0 up at half-time, only for Preston to pull it back to 3-2 going into the closing stages.
The visitors were chasing a leveller when Swans midfielder Jay Fulton went down with a head injury, and the ball remained in play to the annoyance of those on the home bench. As Lowe and Allen faced off, those from both teams - including substitutes - got involved.
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After the restart, Joel Piroe scored a fourth goal for Swansea to make the points safe. The victory took them within three points of Preston, though they remain 13th, while Preston's own play-off hopes were dealt a blow by the reverse.
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Joe Allen was the only player sent off after the 30-man brawl (Ian Cook - CameraSport via Getty Images)"[The red card] won't overshadow his performance tonight," Swansea manager Russell Martin said when asked about Allen. "I thought he was outstanding.
"He's not ready to play 90 minutes yet, this was only his second game back. The plan was 60 (minutes) tonight and 60 against Norwich (on Saturday) so that's changed a little bit.
"But I was so pleased with him, and I think after a full pre-season next season he's going to be a different animal for us, a different player. You saw tonight what he's about - he had so much composure and that finish is such a high quality finish.
"I'm so pleased for him that he scored, I'm so disappointed how the night ends, because all he was doing was trying to get the attention of the fourth official. The game probably should have been stopped, Jay Fulton takes a head injury... a head injury should probably stop the game, but it doesn't, so it can be avoided, and then Ryan pushes Joe and chaos ensues."