Wasps boss Dai Young slammed referee Andrew Jackson's decision to send flanker James Haskell to the sin bin in Sunday's loss to Harlequins at the Ricoh Arena.
Haskell was involved in an off-the-ball altercation with Harlequins prop Joe Marler midway through the first half. The back-row was upset after Marler choked him with the strap of his scrum cap, before squirting him in the face with water.
Haskell reacted by throttling Marler and was sent to the sin bin for his indiscretion.
That proved costly for Wasps as Harlequins scored eight points, courtesy of a Marland Yarde try and Marcus Smith penalty, during Haskell's time on the sidelines.
Wasps eventually lost 24-21 which was their first home defeat in 21 matches. And Young feels Jackson made an incorrect decision not to send Marler to the sin bin after his tussle with Haskell.
"What you want from referees is consistency and I've got to be honest I thought he was consistent – he gave us nothing all game and that's all you can ask for really," he said after the match.
"I think if someone rips your hat off then squirts water in your face, what do you expect? I just thought it was very harsh on James Haskell.
"There comes a time when you've got to look at the guys that spark these things up, not somebody that's going to take exception to someone ripping their hat off and squirting water in their face."
Young was understandably frustrated that his side had not been able to capitalise on some of the opportunities they had created.
"I’m disappointed, but fair play to Quins who deserve credit," he added.
"I thought at times we played some good stuff and our approach was good on many occasions. We should’ve been more clinical when we had the opportunities because we left a lot of points out there.
"It’s always going to be a tough game between us and Quins and it’s always going to be tight, so you need to take every opportunity."
Man-of-the-match Smith was his delighted with his side's performance.
"I’m obviously ecstatic with the result and the performance from the boys," he said.
"We spoke in the week about backing up the win against Gloucester at the Ricoh and it’s a massive achievement.
"The boys put their bodies on the line to keep them out and we’re really chuffed."
Meanwhile, Harlequins captain James Horwill echoed the fly-half's sentiments.
"It was awesome," he said.
"Wasps are a quality side with quality across the park and here they’re very tough to play and we knew we had to be on our game to win.
"The boys fronted up and that’s what we said we wanted to do and it’s a great result."
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