Mark Robins hits out at Swansea City man after 'ridiculous' Stoke City incident

CommentsSportBrian Dick Reach Football Correspondent15:04, 10 Mar 2026Mark Robins has criticised Swansea City Goncalo Franco for his part in the incident that saw Sorba Thomas banned from Stoke City's match with Ipswich Town.

The winger was on a yellow card when he kicked out at the Swans’ midfielder in the 36 minutes in south Wales – earning himself a one-game suspension.

That comes tonight as Stoke take on Kieran McKenna’s promotion hopefuls – and Robins remains unhappy at Franco – and unhappy with the 2-0 defeat at the swansea.com Stadium.

“Obviously we are majorly disappointed, I am majorly disappointed,” he said. “I think, apart from the first 15 minutes, we got ourselves into the game, we had three really good chances. One was chalked off for offside. Rightly so, disappointing nonetheless.

FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest Stoke City news, analysis and more via the Sentinel

“We looked a threat from that those set plays, we attacked the ball well, the delivery was outstanding from Sorba – and then Sorba sees red and ends up off the pitch.

“But I've got to say that the reaction from Franco was poor, he just saw the opportunity and took it, and I think that's what the referee saw.

“Whether Sorba's flicked out with his foot, it shouldn't happen, can't happen again, but to give them what they want is what's said at the end of the game, to give them what they want is ridiculous. Then we miss him for the game tomorrow [Tuesday].”

Every day, the StokeonTrentLive football desk strive to deliver news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Stoke City content.

Our dedicated reporter Pete Smith - who you can follow on X - follows Stoke home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.

If you prefer reading our Stoke stories on your phone, consider downloading the Stoke-on-TrentLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Stoke City as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple