Chris Wilder called Sheffield United incident 'ridiculous' - he will be even angrier now | OneFootball

The decision not to overturn Femi Seriki's controversial red card against Birmingham City will infuriate Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder.

Sheffield United will be hoping to launch a late play-off push in the final stages of the Championship season.

After a nightmare start to the season that saw them lose their opening six games in all competitions, Sheffield United parted company with Ruben Selles in September and brought Chris Wilder back to the club for a third spell in charge, just a few months after his controversial summer exit.

Wilder has successfully guided the Blades away from the relegation zone and into the safety of mid-table, and as their resurgence gathered momentum, there was increasing talk of a potential promotion challenge among the Bramall Lane faithful.

However, United's form has faltered in recent weeks, with Wilder's side winning just one of their past five games, although they did pick up a creditable point in a 1-1 draw at Birmingham City on Saturday, despite playing much of the game with 10 men after Femi Seriki's 23rd-minute red card.

The Blades' play-off hopes were given a boost as sixth-placed Wrexham were beaten 3-1 at Watford on Tuesday night, but they are currently 10 points behind the Red Dragons with just eight games of the season remaining.

Chris Wilder hits out at officials after Femi Seriki decision in Birmingham City draw

Sheffield United earned plenty of credit for their performance in the draw at Birmingham on Saturday, and they could even have come away with all three points had Sydie Peck converted his penalty that was saved by James Beadle.

However, the main talking point among Blades supporters post-match was not their spirited display, but instead the questionable decision to send off Seriki for his foul on Ibrahim Osman, which was deemed to be a denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity, despite the fact that Tyler Bindon was in close proximity to the incident.

Seriki was said to be furious after his dismissal, with reports emerging of him kicking items in anger on his way back to the United dressing room, and that frustration was shared by Wilder, who slammed the officials for their decision to give the defender his marching orders.

"I can't believe, for the life of me, that it was so in that grey area that they can just make that decision," Wilder told The Star.

"It’s so grey, and really it’s not even grey because it's more towards us. Tyler Bindon's there, round on the cover.

"The pace on the ball goes through to Adam Davies and it goes through to his left hand side. The boys never getting there and Tyler Bindon's two yards away on the time of the tackle. Then they go over and talk to the linesman and they come to a decision.

"The referee's not clear on it, linesman's clear on it. He’s two or three yards off of it and then there’s the double whammy of an unbelievable free kick going in the top corner. So I should imagine everybody, maybe some of our supporters, were going: ‘Oh, here we go.’ But I thought the reaction to that was first class."

Given Wilder's comments, it was little surprise that the Blades decided to appeal Seriki's sending off, but after receiving the verdict, the 58-year-old's mood is likely to have darkened even further.

Sheffield United dealt huge Femi Seriki blow ahead of crunch Wrexham clash

Sheffield United would have had reason to be confident that Seriki's red card would be overturned, but, according to The Star, their appeal has been rejected, which will force him to miss a potentially season-defining fixture for his side.

The Blades welcome Wrexham to Bramall Lane on Saturday, and while the Red Dragons may no longer be in sixth place should Southampton beat Norwich City on Wednesday night, it is undoubtedly a must-win game for Wilder's men if they are to have any chance of reaching the play-offs this season.

Seriki has established himself as an integral part of the United team under Wilder, scoring one goal and providing four assists in 32 appearances this campaign, and it was claimed in January that he was on the radar of Premier League side Everton.

Given Seriki's importance to the Blades, Wilder will be hugely disappointed to lose him for one of the biggest games of the season, particularly as his absence is due to a poor refereeing call that arguably should have been corrected on appeal.

With Seriki unavailable, Ki-Jana Hoever will come into the team against Wrexham, and it will be a chance for the Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee to show what he is capable of after a mixed start to life at Bramall Lane following his January arrival.

It will be a tough task for Hoever and his defensive colleagues to keep out a Red Dragons side who are the fifth-highest scorers in the Championship this season with 58 goals, and clean sheets have been hard to come by for United this season, which is a surprise given their usual defensive solidity under Wilder.

However, the Blades will need Hoever to step up as they look to close the gap to the play-off places and keep their promotion hopes alive for another week, but anything less than a win will almost certainly confirm another season in the second tier for the South Yorkshire outfit.