Everton midfielder Ross Barkley has admitted that he was extremely disappointed to be booked for simulation in his side's defeat to Manchester City.
The 21-year-old was criticised for falling to the ground easily against West Ham United last month in a tussle with Kevin Nolan.
Barkley was the subject of debate again when he was wrongly given a yellow card for simulation against City after being tackled by Frank Lampard at the Etihad Stadium.
He told the Liverpool Echo: "All the talk about what happened against West Ham, which I didn't even intend on doing, is having an effect. I was expecting contact. You could see that from my reaction in that game – I got straight back up and tried to get on the ball but the ref gave the free kick.
"I like driving forward with the ball so every now and then I expect a bit of contact because I'm committing players. Against City I was expecting the contact from Frank Lampard and there was contact. I thought it was a free kick to us. I was disappointed the referee gave that as a foul and I got a yellow card."
Barkley has made 10 appearances in all competitions for the Toffees this season.
Simon Sinclair
