Crewe boss Lee Bell was livid that James McClean was allowed to stay on the pitch after the winger’s part in a first-half dust-up in Wrexham’s 3-0 win.
Bell accused the officials of failing to take action against the Irishman, who reacted angrily after a late challenge by Aaron Rowe which ended with Red Dragons goalscorer Ollie Palmer acting as peacemaker.
Referee Seb Stockbridge handed out yellow cards to both McClean and Rowe, but after the break pulled out a red to send off Alex defender Ryan Cooney, which killed off any hopes Crewe had of a fightback after they had fallen behind to first-half efforts from Palmer and Paul Mullin.
“I’m bitterly disappointed to lose at home again as we had looked much better and with a lot more energy,” Bell said. “It was a very even game but then there was a flash-point in the first half which was absolutely ridiculous and I’m quite kind to referees.
“I know James (McClean) but he should have been sent off – but Wrexham aren’t bothered and the referees aren’t bothered.
“When I got sent-off recently I was told that I wasn’t being aggressive, but when you start putting fingers in mouth and putting your head towards people you should be sent off.”
Crewe have lost their last three home games 3-0 and may still need a point from their final-day trip to Colchester to guarantee a play-off berth.
Wrexham, meanwhile, were chalking up a sixth success in the last seven games.
Palmer glanced home Mullin’s cross for the first in the 24th minute. The frontman reciprocated when he flicked on Tom O’Connor’s free-kick and Mullin lifted the ball over goalkeeper Max Stryjek in first-half stoppage time.
Cooney was given a straight red card in the 54th minute for a handling offence which prevented Mullin from running in on goal.
Andy Cannon drilled in Wrexham’s third in the 61st minute. Further goals could have followed with both substitutes Jack Marriott and Steven Fletcher going close, while Crewe sub Charlie Finney was close to heading in a consolation at the far post.
Bell added: “We will take the defeat but at 1-0 down Wrexham should have been down to 10 men. Straight from what went on with that we conceded and that made it a really difficult task against a really good team.
“But we’ll go to Colchester and myself and the players will meet the challenge head-on and make sure we don’t come off the pitch with any regrets.”
Phil Parkinson emphasised the importance of the size of Wrexham’s squad as club captain Luke Young returned to play a key part in the victory.
“Luke came in and was outstanding and that has been our strength, that the group of lads out of the side have been so important to us when they have played,” said the Wrexham boss.
“The last nine away games have seen us take 17 points, so we have been excellent on our travels which I am pleased about. Also for the integrity of the division it was important we performed as there will be teams looking at this game today needing us to come and play well.
“Our mentality has got stronger and we have been very good.
“After their lad got sent off – I was expecting a yellow card – we then went 3-0 up and it was just about controlling the game after that.
“We are happy with the promotion and if we get second then that will be great, but it’s more about finishing the season and getting to the summer and regrouping.
“There are some decisions to be made then and that will be about us sitting down as staff and making the right ones.”
Everyone wants to beat Leverkusen, says Alonso ahead of Frankfurt clash
Bayer Leverkusen continue to edge towards a remarkable unbeaten season and Xabi Alonso acknowledged every club wants to put that run to an end.
The newly-crowned Bundesliga champions moved a step closer to a treble after beating Roma 2-0 away in their Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday.
Alonso's side have also reached the DFB-Pokal final against Kaiserslautern as their extraordinary 47-game unbeaten run continues across all competitions.
Leverkusen, who ended Bayern Munich's 11-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga title to secure their first trophy since 1993, travel to sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
"We want to stay unbeaten and we know every week it gets tougher. Everyone wants to beat us," Alonso told reporters.
"It hasn't been easy in Frankfurt in recent years, they've always a tough opponent with a flexible system of play. We don't have much time to prepare."
The 42-year-old Spaniard will be watching the Frankfurt game from the stands after receiving his fourth yellow card of the season during his side's 2-2 home draw with Stuttgart last week.
"You can see the game better from the stands and I can communicate with the bench," he said.
"I will miss the direct contact with the team during the game but the players are intelligent enough to decide situations individually on the pitch."
Saudi Pro League: Mahrez and Firmino on target as Al-Ahli tighten grip on third place
Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino were both on target as Al-Ahli tightened their grip on third place in the Saudi Pro League table with a 4-1 win over Damac on Thursday.
Matthias Jaissle's team were four goals up within just 25 minutes as Damac folded, Ziyad Al Johani and Feras Al Brikan netting their first two before Franck Kessie was felled by Dhari Al Anazi for a penalty, converted by Mahrez.
Firmino then tapped home a fourth after being teed up by former Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin on the break, but Al-Ahli took their foot off the gas from there, Domagoj Antolic's second-half consolation rounding off the scoring.
Elsewhere, 10-man Al-Riyadh scored two stoppage-time draws to earn a dramatic 2-2 draw with Al-Fateh in Al-Mubarraz.
Goals from Djaniny and former Columbus Crew star Lucas Zelarayan put Slaven Bilic's hosts on the brink of victory, with Al-Riyadh playing almost half the game a player down after Khalid Al Shuwayyi's 54th-minute red card.
An astonishing collapse denied them, however, with Mohammed Al Shwirekh halving the arrears one minute into stoppage time before Didier Ndong headed in a left-wing cross three minutes later.
Thursday's other game saw Al-Hazm and Al-Akhdoud play out a goalless draw, keeping the hosts bottom of the table while Al-Akhdoud inched two points clear of the relegation zone.
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
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