Geoff Eltringham had a “difficult day” but the 10 minutes of injury time added on in Brentford and Reading’s dramatic draw were “excessive”, according to Paul Clement.

The official booked seven players – of which six were on the home team – during the heated clash and sent off Said Benrahma for a second bookable offence.

He also drew the ire of both sets of fans amid a four-minute delay over a free-kick which saw a scuffle break out among players in between.

Brentford boss Dean Smith believes the match’s officials “lost control” of the game but Clement was more sympathetic towards the man in the middle.

READ: 'He was throwing cards around like confetti' - Smith on referee after dramatic Brentford draw

He said: “It was an enjoyable game with a lot of passion from the players and the fans, 10 minutes of added time was excessive but their equaliser came very early in that period.

"I am very proud of the players’ performance. I felt the referee had a difficult day but that's because you had two sets of players going at it hammer and tongs to do the best for their clubs.

"The hold-up around the free-kick in the 52nd minute was way too long and that's what led to much of the added time."

Smith, who believes Mr Eltringham brandished cards "like confetti" in the draw, was puzzled over why the ball was out of play for extended periods of time during the second-half.

There were concerns enough was not being done to stop alleged time-wasting but Clement pointed to the referee as being in charge of controlling that, not him.

READ: Brentford 2 Reading 2: Barbet rescues point as Benrahma sees red in heated clash

Clement added: "I'm sorry, Dean. Next time we'll try to get the ball back in play as quickly as we can to help the opposition.

"It is not my responsibility to control the timing of the game, it’s down to the referee and he has the ability to caution anyone he believes is time-wasting.”

Yoann Barbet rescued a late point for the Bees as Jon Bodvarsson and John Swift both cancelled out Neal Maupay’s ninth league goal this season.

Daniel Bentley was left frustrated with how both goals went in as he scrambled to keep out the first before flapping at the second following a Saeid Ezatolahi free-kick.

Brentford are now sixth in the Sky Bet Championship following the draw as they welcome Birmingham City to Griffin Park in midweek.