Queens Park Rangers boss Mark Hughes has taken the responsibility for debutant Samba Diakite's red card in his side's 1-0 loss to Fulham on Saturday.
Diakite, on loan from French side Nancy, was shown two yellow cards within half an hour of his first match for his new club, but Mark Hughes has defended the Mali midfielder, saying that he was merely following instructions.
"In fairness to Samba, he was doing exactly what I asked him to do," Hughes told Sky Sports News.
"He was asked to be aggressive. Obviously, he's new to the Premier League and he doesn't understand how it's refereed.
"I don't think the second [yellow card] was too rash. I just thought that was a mistimed tackle. But that hurt us and at that point - 1-0 down and down to 10 men once again - it was difficult for us."
The result leaves QPR in 17th place in the Premier League, level on points with 18th-place Blackburn.
Written by
Barney Corkhill
Barney Corkhill
