‘Absolutely ridiculous!’ – Crewe boss rages at ‘flashpoint’ with Wrexham’s James McClean after defeat to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s side

Bell accused authorities of neglecting to take action against the Irishman, who became enraged following a late challenge by Aaron Rowe, which resulted in Red Dragons goalscorer Ollie Palmer serving as a peacemaker. Referee Seb Stockbridge gave McClean and Rowe yellow cards, but after the break, he showed a red card to Crewe defender Ryan Cooney, ending their chances of a comeback after falling behind to first-half efforts from Palmer and Paul Mullin.

Speaking to the Crewe Alexandra media, Bell said: "I’m bitterly disappointed to lose at home again as we had looked much better and with a lot more energy. It was a very even game but then there was a flash-point in the first half which was absolutely ridiculous and I’m quite kind to referees.

"I know James (McClean) but he should have been sent off, but Wrexham aren’t bothered and the referees aren’t bothered.

"When I got sent off recently I was told that I wasn’t being aggressive, but when you start putting fingers in mouth and putting your head towards people you should be sent off.

"We will take the defeat but at 1-0 down Wrexham should have been down to 10 men. Straight from what went on with that we conceded and that made it a really difficult task against a really good team."

The game was a dead rubber for Wrexham as they had already secured automatic promotion to League One. However, for the Railwaymen, it meant that they dropped all three points in a match where they could have confirmed the play-offs spot.

Crewe will be in action on Saturday, April 27 when they take on relegation-battlers, Colchester. Meanwhile, Wrexham will take on League Two champions, Stockport County on the same day.