Sutton United boss Ian Hazel has labelled Newport County's first-half penalty in their Conference South clash on Saturday as the worst decision he has ever seen.

Despite taking an early lead through a Craig Tanner strike Hazel's men had to settle for a point after the referee awarded promotion-chasing County a dubious spot kick after he ruled that United's Alan Bray failed to win the ball in a challenge with striker Craig Hughes, a decision that incensed the Sutton manager.

Hazel said: "It was a good performance but I think it was spoiled by the referee.

"We would have won 1-0 if it wasn't for the worst refereeing decision I have ever seen.

"Alan won the ball - everyone saw that apart from the referee.

"None of their players or supporters appealed for a penalty, but somehow he gave it. Don't ask me why."

A furious Hazel has called on officials to show the courage of their conviction.

"In my opinion, referees are weak at the moment - they get intimidated easily," he said.

"Newport are a big, physical side, and there had been a few incidents prior to the penalty they hadn't been happy with.

"It looked to me as if he has collapsed and given the penalty because the Newport players had been in his face before the decision."

Hazel added that Saturday's stalemate did not mean a lot in the grand scheme of their season, but argued that it could have been costly.

"It could have meant a lot had we been fighting for relegation or towards the top and just because we are in mid-table doesn't make it any less infuriating because we want to win every game," he said.