Bolton Wanderers manager Steven Schumacher has defended Celtic loanee Johnny Kenny after the striker found himself at the centre of controversy in Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Reading.
The incident, which left Reading defender Paudie O’Connor requiring treatment for a facial injury and reportedly losing at least one tooth, dominated the post-match narrative in Berkshire. Reading boss Leam Richardson described the challenge as “mind-blowing” in terms of the referee’s decision not to issue a red card, labelling it at various points “terrible”, “disgusting” and “a stamp”.
Kenny, who is on loan from Scottish champions Celtic, escaped punishment during the game, and no retrospective action has been taken. Schumacher, however, insists there was no malice in the challenge and has stood firmly by the 22-year-old forward.
“To me, it looked like it was an accident. And I’ve spoken to Johnny (Kenny) since. You can see obviously he’s running at real speed.
“[Paudie] O’Connor’s got in front of him and fallen down. And I just don’t think it’s in Johnny’s character to do that intentionally. I think he’s just running and obviously his foot has made contact with O’Connor and it’s not nice if someone suffers a facial injury like he did.
“And the extent of it, that’s never nice. But as I say, it definitely wasn’t intentional, because it’s not in Johnny’s character to do that.
“I’ve watched him play loads of times. I’ve never seen him put an elbow in on anyone or leave a high foot in late. I just don’t think that’s his type of game.
“For us, it was an accident, nothing more. Unfortunately, in football these things happen.”
Reading’s frustration was compounded by the result itself. The Royals had led 1-0 before conceding a stoppage-time equaliser, with Mason Burstow coming off the bench to earn Bolton a point.
Richardson has since confirmed that he raised concerns with the PGMOL over the officiating, though no action has followed. Schumacher believes that fact alone underlines the decision.
“It happened but if we went on and on about every decision that we think has gone against us over the season, we’d be here all day. It is just one of them.
“Nothing was done. The EFL haven’t done anything about it. They’ve obviously had good camera angles of it because of the Sky Sports coverage that was there.
“No further action came of it, so we just move on.”
Addressing suggestions that no apology had been offered, Schumacher added that Kenny had acknowledged the collision during the match.
With no disciplinary fallout and League One points still at a premium, Bolton appear content to draw a line under the episode, even if debate continues elsewhere.
Nasty, but no malice
While a nasty injury isn’t something fans want to see, it didn’t look as though there was any malice in the challenge. It’s not good from O’Connor’s point of view, but football is a quick, intense sport and collisions happen.
There was no unnatural movement from Kenny, certainly not anything that looked like intent, and the lack of retrospective action only serves to underline that.
