Preston fight: Eoin Doyle and Jermaine Beckford an 'absolute embarrassment'

Preston North End manager Simon Grayson described Eoin Doyle and Jermaine Beckford as an "absolute embarrassment" after they were sent off for fighting.

The two strikers squared up near the end of Preston's 2-1 loss at Sheffield Wednesday as they chased an equaliser.

Both players are likely to receive three-match bans for violent conduct.

"I've been in the game for 30 years playing and managing and I've never been involved with anything like that," Grayson told BBC Lancashire.

"I spoke to them in the dressing room and they were apologetic, but that doesn't wash with me, something like that should never happen in the professional game."

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How did it start?

With Wednesday temporarily down to nine men following Fernando Forestieri's sending off and Will Buckley off the field receiving treatment to a shoulder injury with all the substitutes used, North End had been in with a chance of levelling the game after Doyle had pulled a goal back.

But Beckford took exception to Doyle's decision to pass to Marnick Vermijl, who shot over the bar in the 90th minute.

"It's an absolute embarrassment," Grayson said. "I stick up for my players at every club I've been at, I don't like to criticise them in public, I will do in the dressing room. But I can't stick up for either of those players."

What will Preston do?

Grayson said the duo would be reprimanded by the club, on top of any suspension handed to them by the Football Association.

"You expect it in the playground between four or five-year-olds, not from two professionals who've been in the game a long time," added the Preston boss.

"They've let themselves down, but that's the least of it. They've let our supporters down who've travelled here, and ultimately cost us the potential of getting a point or maybe three points because 11 against 10 we were on top and we had them.

"For something like that to happen is embarrassing. It's a joke, it's a disgrace."

Preston captain Tom Clarke told BBC Radio Lancashire that the team will discuss the incident early next week.

"It's not like us, we're a close group and all stick together and we'll look at it again on Monday and try and air stuff out," he said.

"We'll iron stuff out as quickly as we can because we've got to move on."