"The ball hit him on the point of the shoulder and his hands are clearly down. Only one Southend player appealed and I think the referee has gone by that," said Richardson.
"It's a difficult job refereeing but they do make a rod for their own backs by sending off players when its dubious to say the least. I think everyone in the ground saw it hit him on the body. How the ref can call that deliberate handball is scandalous.
"We accept referees make mistakes but to send him off was ridiculous. The ball was fired at him from five yards and he couldn't get out of the way. He got the decision wrong and then made it worse by sending him off.
"We could only hope that the red card will be rescinded when the referee sees the video."