Vitor Pereira rued a costly day for Wolves’ survival hopes after their talisman Matheus Cunha was sent off in a moment of madness during their 5-4 penalty shootout defeat at Bournemouth in the FA Cup fifth round.
Cunha had sent the tie to extra time with a sensational 60th-minute equaliser from range but lost his head with spot-kicks on the horizon.
After Cunha had been flagged offside in the 119th minute, he grabbed Cherries left-back Milos Kerkez around the neck before he appeared to punch, kick and push his head into the face of the same player.
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Referee Sam Barrott eventually pulled out a red card for Cunha, who had remonstrated with Pereira after the red mist descended and pushed team-mate Daniel Bentley as he was ushered towards the changing room.
Cunha was banned for two matches earlier this season by the Football Association after he clashed with a member of Ipswich’s staff and could face further retrospective punishment, which may derail Wolves’ safety bid.
The 17th-placed club face crucial Premier League games with Everton, Southampton, West Ham and relegation rivals Ipswich over the next month.
“Matheus is a special player,” Pereira reflected. “In this game the emotional side was very high and not only inside the pitch, but on the bench and in the stands, everywhere and a lot of pressure.
“In the end it happens what can happen. It should not happen but this is something that happens in football.
“Don’t ask me about it because I was looking at the other side. In the end the referee decided the red card.
“Of course the red card is one less player, one less specialist in penalties and the next games without a player that is important for us, but in the end we will start the next game against Everton with 11 and this is the most important for me.
“He is important but I cannot speak about what I don’t know. It is important to check the situation, to look for what happened because I was looking for the other side.
“I cannot judge a situation because the others say to me he kicked, he punched, he did what he did, with the head and the player went to hospital? No, OK but it is a situation that cannot happen of course. To judge the situation, I must have the clear image in my mind.”
