Furious O’Neill blasts Ballack and ref Dowd

ASTON VILLA Martin O’Neill pointed the finger at Michael Ballack over a controversial penalty and condemned the performance of ref Phil Dowd during yesterday’s draw with Chelsea.

O’Neill is considering an appeal of the red card shown to Zat Knight on the stroke of half-time after claiming his player made no contact with Ballack.

And the Villa boss was also frustrated by the free kick awarded for Martin Laursen’s challenge on Joe Cole that was converted by Ballack to nudge Chelsea 4-3 ahead, insisting Dowd’s decision was influenced by the crowd.