'Would have been': Tony Mowbray explains his referee frustrations after Sunderland's disappointing defeat

The Black Cats boss said he was left confused by referee Dean Whitestone's willingness to allow fouls go throughout the game, saying it was a complete and unexplained departure from the way recent fixtures have been judged.

Though Coventry City boss Mark Robins said he felt some of Sunderland's players had gone down 'too easily' at stages of the game, he also said that he was bemused that a number of what he felt were clear fouls on his striker Viktor Gyokeres were left unpunished.

"I said to the fourth official about five minutes when he let two or three tackles go, that all season they've been fouls," Mowbray said.

"I'm just disappointed nobody told us that before. I've got no issue with it, I quite like that - it was like a game from the 1980s at times when you were allowed to kick people and jump on them and then it would be play on. It would have been nice to have been told that and we could have prepared the team for it.

"I think Coventry probably grasped what was happening a bit quicker than we did, and they became quite physical. That's fine, and I said to the team at half time that when you're in a fight, you have to throw some punches.

"You have to accept it, it's just difficult because every week they're fouls.

"The other night at Rotherham United... they put six minutes added time up on the board but we didn't play that much. It's not acceptable - they need to be accountable."

Mowbray wouldn't be drawn on Coventry's first goal specifically, when Joe Gelhardt was brought down just moments before Jamie Allen broke into the box to score.

"I try not to talk about the referees, especially after a defeat because then it's sour grapes and 'Mowbray's moaning', the Sunderland head coach said.

"He didn't think it was a foul, so we should have kept it out of our net better."