Stuart Pearce makes Elliot Anderson claim after Nottingham Forest beat Aston Villa

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Stuart Pearce is a legend of Nottingham Forest, and the club remains close to his heart following his time as a player and a manager of the Reds.

Pearce spent many years playing as a left-back for the club and forged a career on making strong tackles and being a superb leader of men.

These days, he’s far more mellow and on Thursday, he watched on as Forest defeated Aston Villa 1-0 in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.

One big decision in the match on Thursday came when Unai Emery believed Elliot Anderson should have been red-carded for a strong tackle on Ollie Watkins.

Pearce has suggested that the referee used common sense to keep his cards in his pocket on the night as Forest faced Villa.

• READ MORE: Sean Dyche makes Elliot Anderson claim

Stuart Pearce defends Elliot Anderson for tackle on Ollie Watkins

Pearce was renowned for leaving players lying in a heap on the ground after a robust tackle, and he’s mentioned that he’s glad to see the ref from Thursday use some common sense.

Pearce believes that Anderson might have been sent off on another day for that sort of tackle, but was pleased to see the referee show some common sense.

He said on TalkSPORT: “But you know, listen, on any given day, this weekend, there’ll be a sending off for something a lot less than that. There’s no doubt. So, if he’d have got sent off, it wouldn’t have surprised you. I’m absolutely delighted that this referee is coming to the game. I think he’s brandished 14 red cards this year. And I was concerned that he might spoil a good game between two English teams, you know, and I think he probably thought to himself, you know what? It’s two English teams. I’m just going to let them get on with it to a certain extent.

Anderson might have to be careful

The talented youngster played outstandingly well against Villa and deserved his Player of the Match accolade afterwards.

However, now that he’s made this tackle, which has caused some controversy in the Villa camp, his card might be marked back in the Premier League.

It would have perhaps been harsh for Anderson to see red after he won the ball from Watkins and caught him with a firm follow-through.

However, tackling laws have changed in the modern era, and perhaps Vitor Pereira will have a little word with his midfielder ahead of future performances.