CRAIG Lingard has welcomed the decision not to suspend any of the four players who were sent off in the Cougars' friendly at Bradford.

Samir Tahraoui and Ryan Wright saw red for Keighley, while Elliot Minchella and Ethan Ryan were dismissed for the Bulls as the pre-season game boiled over in several fracas.

But the Rugby Football League's match review panel did not feel the players warranted further punishment.

Lingard was in agreement, believing that a more experienced referee than young Liam Staveley should have been put in charge of the local derby.

The Cougars head coach said: "They were very harsh sendings off from both teams.

"I thought it was a poorly handled game, to be fair, and I've spoken to John (Kear) at Bradford about it and he said exactly the same.

"You've got to abide by the laws of the game but what are you going to gain by sending four people off in a friendly?

"If there was a more experienced referee, they would have pulled the captains together and said, 'look, if anything more happens, I am going to have to start sending people off'.

"They could let us know and we could pull people out of the fray. I think the fact the guys didn't get any bans reflects that view that they shouldn't have been sent off in the first place."

Josh Lynam was given a two-game ban for punching in that game due to having previous offences on his record.

That means the second-row misses Sunday's cup trip to Crusaders and the game at Newcastle, although captain Josh Tonks returns this weekend following a one-game ban against Workington.

Lingard was unhappy at the suspension given to his skipper, claiming the charge against him for a challenge in the friendly with Leeds Rhinos had been changed and had left them with insufficient time to prepare an appeal.