Bolton boss Ian Evatt speaks for first time about squaring up to rival player in heated face-off
Yesterday at 05:14 PM
Bolton boss Ian Evatt insists ‘there was context’ behind his actions of getting in a rival player’s face.
The 42-year-old lost his head following the Trotters‘ 2-2 draw against League One opponents Shrewsbury at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
His heated reaction came as Evatt was speaking to referee Declan Bourne, with Morgan Feeney appearing to have a word of his own.
It led Evatt to immediately push the defender away, before proceeding to put his head against the 25-year-old’s.
It came after the fourth official signalled there would be eight minutes of added time, only for the referee to end the game 60 seconds early as Bolton were chasing the win.
Evatt’s moment of madness was reminiscent of when talkSPORT co-host Pardew headbutted Hull’s David Meyler in 2014 whilst in charge at Newcastle.
He was subsequently handed a three-game stadium ban, followed by a four-match touchline suspension.
On top of that, Pardew was slapped with a £60,000 fine by the FA, while also being punished £100,000 by then-Magpies owner Mike Ashley.
And he recently admitted to talkSPORT that he and Meyler haven’t made up over the incident in the decade since it was written into Premier League folklore.
And Evatt could be on the receiving end of a ban of his own, with official Bourne wasting no time in brandishing him a red card.
Incredibly, Evatt was left in shock and bewilderment as he walked away in disgust after being given his marching orders.
As per EFL rules, Evatt was unable to speak to the media following his sending off.
Instead, Bolton assistant Pete Atherton conducted post-match duties, where he gave insight into the disagreement between Evatt and Feeney, while saying the latter should have also seen red.
He said: “The gaffer went over to the ref and asked why there wasn't time added on to the time added, if you will.
“They talked about that and one of their players has started to get involved.
“They had words, the ref gave the gaffer a red and their player a yellow.
“So I am not quite sure why there is a red for one and a yellow for the other. It was nothing that he said to the referee."
Evatt has since spoken about the incident, where he admitted he crossed a line, but suggested he wasn’t the only guilty party.
He said: “What I will say is that I’m disappointed. I’m not happy with the way things turned out.
“There wasn’t an issue with the referee at all, we were discussing the timing situation.
“There was context to my actions. Their player grabbed me, saying some not nice things and I reacted in a way I shouldn’t have done.
“Whether it was emotion, frustration, passion, whatever you want to call it, probably went too far.
“But as I said, there was context behind the way I reacted and I’ll be discussing that with the FA [Football Association].”
Bolton found themselves 2-0 down before clawing the game back to 2-2.
The result leaves Bolton in 13th spot in the third-tier, while Shrewsbury remain in 22nd place.
