Bradford City manager Phil Parkinson has claimed that the officials played a key role in his side's 2-0 loss to Peterborough United in League One this afternoon.

The Bantams lost ground on their rivals for a playoff spot with the defeat, and Parkinson refused to hide his disappointment with the performance of referee Graham Horwood.

"We were right in the game but decisive decisions went against us," the Bradford boss told reporters.

"The referee gave a very dubious free-kick that led to a scrappy opening goal in what was a scrappy game in all honesty, and he then gave one of the softest penalties I've seen in a long time.

"The linesman was looking straight down the barrel at the incident from 10 yards away and didn't flag, but the referee made a ridiculous decision."

Bradford are back in action when they host Crawley Town on Tuesday evening.