Cana blasts inconsistent refs
Lorik Cana admits inconsistent refereeing has made his exile from Sunderland's side even harder to take.
Sunderland's captain completes a two-match ban when the Black Cats host Birmigham City on Saturday.
Cana is serving his third ban of the season and accepts that suspensions are part and parcel of life as a midfield enforcer.
But the Albania international reckons he's been harshly judged on one or two occasions and saw Chris Foy's lenient stance towards Manchester City's Gareth Barry as a perfect example of how referees interpret incidents very differently.
Barry barged into David Meyler after the Sunderland midfielder tried to take a quick free-kick, but escaped with a booking.
Cana said: "It is normal for me to be suspended two or three games a season, so I don't complain about that, but a hard thing to accept is inconsistent decisions.
"For me, the incident with Gareth Barry was definitely a red card. David Meyler is a real man and did not make a big drama out of it, but you can compare what Barry did to what Kenwyne Jones did when he was sent off against West Ham this season.
"If Kenwyne deserved a red card then so did Gareth Barry on Sunday. He was quite aggressive.
"We played a really good game with Manchester City and, over the 90 minutes, I think a draw was the right result.
"But who knows how it might have turned out if the referee had seen it differently?
"A win and two more points could have made a big difference for us."
Cana was first suspended before Christmas for reaching five yellow cards and served a second ban after being sent off for two bookable offences in the Black Cats' 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa in December.
He said: "If is really frustrating to be fit and not able to play.
"We need everyone fit and available because the table is still very close.
"But in the last month we have been very hard to beat and that must stay the same against Birmingham on Saturday.
"Home games are really important for us and after this we have tough away games at Villa and Liverpool, so it would be great to win."
* Cana and Paulo Da Silva were at the Morrison's supermarket in Seaburn yesterday to support England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals.
Shoppers at Morrison's stores are being encouraged to sign a "back the bid" petition.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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