FURIOUS Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy kept his thoughts to himself last night in a bid to avoid an official rap.

The Black Cats' pulsating 3-3 draw with Preston at the Stadium of Light was one to remember.

But McCarthy's abiding memories will focus on the display of referee Phil Prosser.

The Sunderland chief said: "It was one of those games when we should have been talking about it as a great spectacle.

"Instead, I'm finding it difficult to keep my temper in check and not say anything that may get me into bother.

"It's very disappointing but I'm not going to say anything about him (the referee). I wouldn't waste my time on going to see him after the match."

With the two sides level at 1-1, Sunderland midfielder Jeff Whitley's reckless two-footed lunge into Richard Cresswell earned him a red card.

As the former Manchester City star rose to his feet he appeared to push Graham Alexander in the face before the official sent him off.

Whitley will now face a three-match ban, meaning he will miss Sunderland's FA Cup semi-final with either Millwall or Tranmere on April 4.

McCarthy said: "The two of them went in for the tackle and then it all seemed to go mad. There was a suggestion he got sent off for a punch but he never did that. I haven't seen that.

"If he gets three games then he looks like he will be missing for the semi."

Eddie Lewis' injury-time free-kick levelled matters for a third time and stopped Sunderland claiming a play-off place ahead of the visit of West Ham on Saturday.

And McCarthy said: "It got my heart going a bit. We were excellent in the first half and we didn't deserve the sucker punch late on.

"I thought we got into it but the sending off changed the game completely. I can't fault the players for effort. I guess I should be delighted that we got a point but I'm not."

A tight-lipped Preston boss Craig Brown managed to calm down before giving his view on events. But the former Scotland manager still believed Mr Prosser got the penalty decision wrong.

Preston's Rob Edwards was adjudged to have pulled down Marcus Stewart inside the box seven minutes from time. Stewart got to his feet before side-footing past goalkeeper Andrew Lonergan.

Brown said: "I don't want to get into any trouble about the sending off and I never talk about opposition players, although I thought their penalty was very soft.

"I don't think we should have conceded that penalty kick but I am bound to be biased."

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