Northampton manager Jon Brady has accused Charlton Athletic of targeting midfielder Marc Leonard in Saturday’s 1-1 draw.
Brighton loanee Leonard was taken down six times throughout the 90-minute match, with defender Rarmani Edmonds-Green receiving a yellow card in second-half stoppage time for a tackle on the 22-year-old.
Nathan Jones’ team took the lead through Karoy Anderson, but Northampton equalised thanks to an error by Harry Isted in the 80th minute.
According to the Northampton Chronicle & Echo, Brady stated: “You could see he was targeted today.”
“He was kicked from pillar to post every time he touched the ball. The ref did nothing about that, which I felt was quite awful. He must have had a high foul count.
“You should see his shins; there is a lot of blood gushing out since he’s been kicked all over the place. You said officials performing their jobs and protecting players, but there was none of it tonight.
“Charlton have gone from a good footballing side under Michael Appleton to being really direct and trying to be aggressive in order to get themselves out of a relegation battle, and Marc Leonard was one of the players they targeted tonight.
“They kicked the crap out of him, which is what happens to high-quality ball players.
“I’m disappointed, but Marc has shown resilience for the past two years, and he kept getting up until he had to come off.
“I assume he is well, although he is bruised and abused. We could all see what was happening, and I believe the officials should have handled it better.”
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