Eddie Howe applauds referee Jon Moss for admitting error

Eddie Howe has praised referee Jon Moss for holding his hands up after failing to award Bournemouth a penalty in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Southampton.

The County Durham whistler surprised many inside the Vitality Stadium when booking Adam Smith for simulation under a challenge from Sofiane Boufal.

To add insult to injury for Smith, the defender will now sit out the Cherries' trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday as it was his fifth caution of the campaign.

Smith revealed after last weekend's match that Moss offered an apology for the error, which should have led to the awarding of a Bournemouth penalty, and Howe respects the official's words.

"The referee deserves credit for that - I'm not going to criticise him for admitting he made a mistake," he told reporters. "I think that's fine and that is agreed with in the referee's report, that he got the decision wrong.

"All you can ask is people reflect, analyse and try to improve themselves. That's what I would say to any of my players who make a mistake and it's the same with referees. The rules are that nothing can be done for Adam or for us with the penalty decision but that's football."

Former Premier League official Dermot Gallagher defended Moss's decision to show Smith a yellow card, blaming the former Tottenham Hotspur full-back for his over-elaborate fall.