West Bromwich Albion boss Roy Hodgson was unhappy with Ben Foster after defeat to Stoke City.
Foster and Gabriel Tamas were involved in an 89th-minute mix-up which presented Ryan Shotton with a tap-in for his first Barclays Premier League goal.
Hodgson felt Mike Dean should have disallowed the goal because of Shotton's challenge on Foster but also conceded the goalkeeper might have dealt with the incident better.
He said: "To lose like that is very galling especially having seen the replays. I thought we defended it very, very badly.
"Foster could have been brave and taken the stud in the chest.
"But unfortunately he decided to turn away from the stud and, as a result, we conceded a goal.
"I think the referee could have helped in the situation by giving the free-kick because the player has put his foot high and was leading with his studs.
"The game was heading to 0-0 which for us, a team that never has a clean sheet, would not have been such a disaster but unfortunately that was taken away from us.
"I saw it as a foul, the ref didn't. That is football."
