'Yates and Tanganga both deserved to get sent off'
Jerry Yates and Japhet Tanganga both deserved to get sent off during Millwall's final-day Championship win at Swansea City, according to Swans head coach Luke Williams.
With five minutes left and Millwall 1-0 up, Saturday's game took an unexpectedly aggressive turn when Swansea substitute Yates and Millwall centre-back Tanganga were both shown red cards after tangling off the ball.
It was unclear what sparked the incident but, seemingly reacting to something Tanganga said, Swans striker Yates grabbed hold of the Tottenham loanee and appeared to throw a punch.
“I’ve watched the action back. He [Yates] is certainly antagonised but he reacts badly," said Williams.
"It’s unfortunate because there’s going to be a hangover for that one next season [with a suspension]. It’s a big shame really.
“I don’t want to put the blame on one of those guys because they’re both involved. They both deal with it in the wrong way. Someone can antagonise you and you can choose how you react.
"Both of them deserved to get sent off. Neither of them are innocent and none of them are solely responsible."
The result means Millwall ended the season 13th in the Championship table, their fifth straight win helping them leapfrog Swansea, who dropped to 14th.
Williams confirmed Yates had apologised to his team-mates after the game.
“Yeah, he knows he shouldn’t have done that," the former Notts County boss added.
"These boys are very competitive, very athletic and if you catch them in the wrong moment, something like this can happen.
"It’s happened many times before and he won’t be the last to do a silly action. He got emotional and reacted badly.”
