'Skulduggery and panto' - Derby County boss addresses weekend controversy ahead of Sunderland clash

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Derby County were at the heart of a moment of controversy in their weekend defeat against Championship rivals Norwich City.

Derby County will travel to Sunderland on Tuesday night looking to move on from a controversial home defeat they suffered against Norwich City.

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The Rams have endured a mixed return to the Championship after securing promotion as League One runners-up last season and will head to the Stadium of Light sat in mid-table following Saturday’s narrow home loss against the Canaries. A hat-trick from Spanish striker Borja Sainz helped Norwich to a 3-2 win at Pride Park as goals from Craig Forsyth and Corey Taylor went without rewards for Warne and his players.

However, the Rams boss was stinging from two errors from the officials that ultimately led to two of their visitors goals, starting with a Josh Sargent cross that set up Sainz for his first goal was out of play before the centre came into the area. Sainz’s third goal, which came with three minutes remaining, rubbed salt into the Derby wounds as they felt they should have been awarded a corner-kick prior to the move that allowed the Canaries star to complete his treble.

Speaking after the game, Rams boss Warne stopped short of outwardly criticising the match officials at Pride Park - but could not hide his disappointment over two questionable decisions that left his side to emerge pointless from the game.

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He told Derbyshire Live: "The officials are pretty close to it for the first one aren't they. I am disappointed they haven't seen it. But they can only give what they see. That was frustrating. I know there is a lot of skulduggery and panto in football, but at every level, you know something is wrong by the players' reactions. Nobody complained about the second goal, not that they could, because there was nothing to complain about.

“But I just knew at the time, and I can rewind situations by 15 or 30 seconds, but that plays a big part of the game. I just feel a bit sorry for my team. They gassed out, they gave everything and they are a great group. They played with courage. Everyone says it evens itself out and I am looking forward to that happening."

Warne has already revealed Australian full-back Callum Elder will miss the trip to visit to Wearside and is unlikely to return until after the international break after he suffered a groin injury in a 1-0 defeat against Sheffield United earlier this month.

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