Super Eagle striker, Peter Odemwingie faces a three-match ban after he received a straight red card for kicking Sascha Reither in West Bromwich Albion’s 0-3 defeat to Fulham in the Barclays English Premier League on Saturday.
The score was 1-0 to Fulham at the time of Odemwingie’s misconduct after Dimitar Berbatov bagged his first goal for the Cottagers.
The striker, who scored on the opening day of the season, shocked all when he lashed out at an unsuspecting Reither leaving the referee with little option but to send him off.
Odemwingie, who will miss his club’s next three matches, has now apologised for his actions.
“I lost my temper. I’m a professional and should have kept my cool, but it happens,” he said.
He further revealed that he wanted to foul Reither without any malicious intent.
“I wanted to foul the player because I thought he was angry towards me. But I should cool my emotions.
“I’ve said sorry to the players and to the staff. It’s a lesson to learn.
“I am looking at the incident in a different way now.
“That moment went very fast for me, I felt a kick on my ankle and felt an injustice that the linesman was so close but nothing was given.
“But now I think it was my fault. I lost my temper. I’m a professional and should have kept my cool, but it happens. It’s not my habit.”
Meanwhile, the WBA manager, Steve Clarke has refused to criticise the 31-year old Nigerian.
“We’re all human – we have emotions. Peter felt he had been fouled, felt it was a free kick and reacted in the wrong way. The red card is there and he has accepted the punishment, we all have to accept it and move on,” he said.
