"I thought it was a very, very bad tackle," Royle said in the Western Mail. "It was two-footed and very high, tantamount to assault.
"The referee saw it as a booking, but three or four weeks ago I think the lad would have been sent off. But now referees are being more lenient
"I was surprised to hear one or two people saying Jim had dived. Jim has got a gash on the top of his foot which is very swollen and he is very doubtful for the next game.
"The sad thing for us was that Jim was running the show at that stage when we going through the Cardiff midfield at will."
Gray was joined in the referee's book by Richard Langley, Gary Croft, John Robinson and Tony Vidmar.