MARK Cooper delivered a scathing assessment of referee Graham Salisbury’s performance as Swindon Town were held to a goalless draw at Crewe Alexandra yesterday.

In what was far from a bad-tempered League One clash, no fewer than 11 yellow cards were handed out by Mr Salisbury, with Cooper blasting his efforts at Gresty Road as ‘terrible’.

The final two cautions also led to the dismissals of Town’s Jack Stephens and Crewe’s Alan Tate for second bookable offences late in the game.

Cooper felt both those red cards could have been avoided had the referee not set a precedent with a series of unnecessary bookings earlier on.

“I thought the referee was terrible the whole game for both teams. He spoilt the game really,” said Cooper.

“Every little niggle seemed to be a yellow card, so he left himself with no option but to send people off.

“When there wasn’t a bad tackle in the game, we’ve had two people sent off.

“He needs to look at himself tonight because he’s let himself down today.”

It is the second weekend in a row where Cooper has criticised the performance of the match officials, with the Town boss also unhappy following last Saturday’s 2-1 loss at home to Crawley Town.