Referee accused of 'bottling' decision as Palace midfielder avoids red card at Brighton

The Seagulls ran out 1-0 winners with a goal against the run of play thanks to Solly March - who rather spookily scored in the 15th minute on March 15 - after Crystal Palace missed three clear-cut chances in the opening quarter of an hour.

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Despite the questions over the fixture being a real derby, the rivalry was certainly rearing its head in the opening 45 minutes at the AMEX.

Defender Joel Veltman endured a tasty battle with Palace winger Wilfried Zaha throughout, with the Seagulls man being forced to keep tissue up his nose after the two had tussled for possession.

But it was the moment between Veltman and another Palace star that left talkSPORT 2's commentators reporting live from the AMEX incensed as the Eagles man put in multiple heavy tackles.

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Doucoure earnt himself a yellow card from referee Peter Bankes in the 22nd minute as he stuck a leg out to stop Veltman skipping past him.

And just as the game edged towards the break, Brighton fans were left furious as the referee failed to punish the Palace man for another foul, this time on Moises Caicedo five-yards outside the penalty area.

"That is a yellow card, no question about it," talkSPORT's Alex Crook said as he watched the replay of the incident, "The referee has bottled that."

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"It's more of a yellow card than the yellow card he got!" co-commentator and former England player Alvin Martin agreed.

Crook then continued: "You just cannot explain that decision if you're Peter Bankes! You will not see a more obvious booking than that one. One more tackle and he's off. On a Sunday morning that's a yellow card."

Then, much to the commentators' shock, Doucoure avoided a booking once again as he lunged in on Veltman from behind and causing the Brighton bench to jump up in anger.

"He's a very fortunate player," Martin continued after the half-time whistle as Doucoure headed down the tunnel.

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"He [Bankes] made one decision to get a yellow out and that puts him under pressure. Any challenges more serious than that and he has to get the yellow out.

"The second challenge was worse than the first one! I'll be very surprised if Doucoure will come out for the second half."

And Palace manager Patrick Vieira was clearly nervous that his midfielder would see red, as he hooked the midfielder off at half-time for Eberechi Eze.

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The result sees Brighton move level on points with sixth-placed Liverpool, while 12th-placed Palace are just three points above the relegation zone.