'Autograph' official defends himself

Graham Salisbury, Saturday's match official who earned criticism from Mick McCarthy for seeking an autograph from a West Ham player, has defended his actions.

After the match it was revealed that Salisbury had gone to the West Ham dressing room prior to kick off to get Teddy Sheringham's autograph. When Mick McCarthy found out he said, "I'm not saying it had any bearing on his decisions, but I think that is beneath contempt. I wouldn't want anybody coming into our dressing room before the game."

But Salisbury has hit back, saying "I'm a bit disappointed by Mick McCarthy's reaction. Why he would want to say what he did I don't know. We are all professional about the jobs we do. I don't deny going in to see Sheringham and he signed his autograph for me.

"It's all part and parcel of the game for people to show an interest in other people's lives and to learn from them. It is standard procedure for there to be a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between dressing rooms before a game and it's not uncommon for me to go into both."