England defender Joleon Lescott has told his teammates that they must wise up when it comes to international referees after their 1-1 draw with Ukraine.
Having gone a goal down, a Frank Lampard penalty drew the hosts level late on in the game before Gerrard was sent off for a second bookable offence.
One of the main talking points after the match was the display of Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir who handed out a number of yellow cards in the 90 minutes, including one to the Manchester City centre-back.
"Maybe the bookings give the impression England were a physical team. That was not the case. If you look at the challenges and the cards given, they were a bit harsh but it is different to the Premier League," said Lescott.
"We know being as physical is not allowed at international level so we know we need to be patient at times. They let things go in the Premier League. It is something players have to get used to, definitely. But most of us have played at international level before so we know what it is about.
"Did we have a bad rub of green with the referee? Maybe, but like I said, we know the standard of refereeing is totally different to the Premier League."
England remain unbeaten in their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Matt Cotton
