JAMES Ward-Prowse insisted there was “no explanation” for the manner of Leicester City’s opener on Sunday and called sportsmanship into question.

James Maddison opened for the Foxes in the eventual 4-1 defeat at King Power Stadium, but only after a refereeing error by Jon Moss.

The official gave a drop-ball the way of the home side when play had been ended with Saints in possession, and Jamie Vardy pressed the long-ball forward immediately.

Lyanco failed to get the ball back to goalkeeper Alex McCarthy with two attempted headers, and Maddison finished a rebound after Vardy’s effort was well saved.

The Saints players, including captain Ward-Prowse, surrounded Moss trying to get some kind of intervention or explanation, while the Leicester bench did not take up Ralph Hasenhuttl’s suggestion of allowing a concession of the equaliser.

“No explanation,” Ward-Prowse told the club website, when asked about the incident at full-time. “We were in possession when the collision (between Vardy and Oriol Romeu) happened.

“I don’t think it was given as a free-kick, hence why the ball was dropped, passed back to the keeper and he gestured that we were going to receive the ball back.

“Obviously we could have defended it better, but in the way of sportsmanship and things like that, I think the incident could have been dealt with a bit better.”

Ward-Prowse struck his 10th Premier League goal of the season to give Saints a chance and make it 2-1, after Vardy added a goal of his own.

But the St Mary’s side folded immediately and conceded a third, killing the game, before Ayoze Perez turned that one into a brace in added time.

"There’s a bigger picture than that (first goal), and ultimately we’ve conceded four goals and not won the game, so that’s the main issue for us,” Ward-Prowse added.

“First half we were really good in the game, we limited to them to no real chances, we had a lot of possession.

“The incident has changed the flow of the game, and to go 1-0 down is incredibly hard in the Premier League, but there’s a bigger picture than the incident itself.”

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