Barton’s blast for Bruce as the red mist descends

The Tigers moved four points clear of trouble in the Premier League with a 2-1 triumph over 10-man Rangers after Dame N’Doye marked his 30th birthday with a dramatic 89th-minute winner.

N’Doye’s late intervention against a major rival was one of several sub-plots on an intriguing afternoon that also saw Charlie Austin score against the club that had once pulled the plug on a £4.5m transfer at the eleventh hour due to a failed medical.

It was, however, Barton’s dismissal just after the half-hour mark that proved to be the major talking point as the red mist descended on the Rangers captain following an altercation.

A dangerous challenge by teenage debutant Darnell Furlong on Nikica Jelavic sparked the bust-up, which saw players from both sides square up to each other as referee Anthony Taylor mulled over whether to show a yellow or red card.

Several Hull players were urging the latter course, including Bruce. Barton’s response was to, first, push Bruce away and then land a low blow to Tom Huddlestone’s groin.

Taylor had no alternative but to dismiss the 32-year-old, who had gone into the Hull game on the back of being booked in each of his previous seven appearances – a Premier League record.

Barton said: “By the letter of the law, if you react and the ref is right on it then, technically, it is a sending-off. But there was no malice.

“It was just a stupid, non-malicious reaction. It makes no sense. Obviously, if I could rewind it then I wouldn’t do it.

“I just tried to get there and calm the situation down. As captain, referees speak to you before the game and say ‘If the players start crowding, can you get in there and try to calm the situation down?’ I did that and a couple of Hull players were pushing and shoving.

“I have stupidly reacted and touched Tom Huddlestone up. It was a very stupid reaction from me. But absolutely no malice, I didn’t intend to hurt Tom.”

Hull were a goal ahead when Barton saw red but the London club were level within seven minutes courtesy of a flicked header from Austin, who celebrated with an exaggerated limp designed to make his point over the failed medical of July, 2013, which scuppered his transfer to the KC from Burnley.

After that, Hull toiled against 10 men and it took until the 89th minute for N’Doye to finally break QPR’s resolve when he headed in Robbie Brady’s cross to clinch three precious points and leave Barton even more frustrated at his own moment of madness in the first half.

The former England midfielder, who is facing a three-game ban, said: “I have gone there to protect a young kid. I felt it was a decent tackle, but the referee had given a free-kick.

“I saw a lot of the opposition players running over and a couple of them were shouting for the red card. We had a young kid, 19 years of age, making his debut.

“Really, senior pros shouldn’t be running over asking for him to be sent off. All right, we both want to win the game, there was a lot on the line for both teams.

“You have got to have a bit more about you. If the boot was on the other foot, I wouldn’t be screaming for a 19-year-old kid from Hull to be sent off.

“If it was a bad tackle, fair enough. But I certainly wouldn’t be screaming and running.

“What did Alex Bruce run? He has run 40 yards to not only get in the referee’s face and scream for a red card, but he barged me in the process.

“There are no excuses, my reaction is my reaction. As a 32-year-old with a few hundred Premier League appearances, someone who has been captain of the club for a while and with a very public profile, I should know a lot better.

“People will criticise me and lambast me from pillar to post. I have to accept that. As one of the tallest trees, you catch the most wind.”

Barton’s offence was missed by Steve Bruce, though the Hull manager is adamant that the QPR captain can have few complaints.

He said: “You can’t be punching people in the knackers, can you? I can honestly say that I didn’t see the actual incident, but everyone tells me what he did was just ridiculous.

“Unfortunately, when the red mist comes – we’ve all done stupid things.”

Match report: Page 3.