MIDDLESBROUGH boss Aitor Karanka was unhappy with the dismissal of striker Curtis Main in the 2-1 defeat to Derby County.
Main was sent off for a second bookable offence after only 34 minutes of Wednesday's match at Pride Park following fouls on keeper Lee Grant and Jake Buxton.
"I would like to know why he was sent off," said Karanka. "If he deserved two yellow cards, then you would be ending every game with six or seven players."
While disappointed to leave Derby empty-handed after Conor Sammon's 90th-minute winner, Karanka was encouraged by his team's performance.
"You can't be sad when you lose one game," said the former Real Madrid assistant boss.
"To concede goals at the end of both halves, we felt bad. I saw I have a team which is together, everyone was helping each other and fighting the same battle and I was very happy about that.
"It was very encouraging. When you lose the way we did, you cannot really say anything to the players."
