Allardyce blasts ref as penalties denied

BOLTON boss Sam Allardyce accused referee Olegario Benquerenca of bottling the big decisions after his side were denied two penalties in their goalless UEFA Cup tie against Marseille.

Even visiting coach Jean Fernandez admitted defender Frederic Dehu handled Jay-Jay Okocha’s cross just before the break, while Fabien Barthez was fortunate to get away with flattening Kevin Davies when the former Manchester United man missed the ball completely as he attempted to punch clear.

With Dehu also getting away with a sly elbow in the face of Stelios Giannakopoulos as Marseille attempted to run the clock down, it was easy to see why Allardyce was so annoyed.