Stoke City boss Mark Hughes criticises referee after draw against Leicester City

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has criticised referee Andre Marriner for his performance during his side's 2-2 draw with Leicester City.

The Potters boss believes that the official should have awarded a free kick, rather than played the advantage, before the Foxes netted their equaliser.

"It seemed like it took three or four attempts by their players to stop ours before a free kick was given," he told reporters.

"That was the case with Jon Walters. We asked at the end of the match and the referee said he wanted to play advantage. What sort of advantage is that for us? They go up the other end and score.

"We want a level playing field but things seem to conspire against us. But we won't hide behind them. We needed to be better in the second half."

The result leave Stoke without a win this season, but Hughes insists that there were positives to draw from the Leicester stalemate and is confident his team will improve.

He added: "A lot of our play is good but we need to handle the key moments. We will get better."

Stoke remain in the bottom three following the draw, sitting in 17th place with three points from their six matches.