Miller misses Man Utd chance

Last updated : 10 December 2007 By Martyn Bowers
Miller appeared to slap Chelsea's Claudio Pizarro on Saturday after having an exhange of words with England captain, John Terry.

The ban means that Miller misses the games against Aston Villa, Reading and Manchester United.

It is the fourth time a Sunderland player has been sent-off this season. Paul McShane was sent off for a foul on Aleksandr Hleb, whilst Greg Halford was dismissed against both Luton Town (League Cup) and Fulham.

Roy Keane was far-from happy with the referee's decisions on Saturday. He had this to say about Liam Miller's sending off: "There's no doubt that once you raise your hand, there referee has no choice. I've been down that road myself before. I just felt that it could have been avoided.

"Clearly, you are not allowed to tackle the England captain because there was a big issue made of Liam's tackle on him, from himself and Pizarro. It was a foul but that was it.

"It was disappointing because it was a straight red and Liam will miss three games now. I think the referee could have maybe stepped in five seconds earlier because the reaction from Terry and Pizarro disappointed me. It was a foul but there was no nastiness to it."