Foreign players are destroying the honesty of the Premier League blasts red-carded Crouch

The Liverpool striker said the Nigerian over-reacted to the tackle that earned the England striker a red card in the Carling Cup defeat on Wednesday.

Collision course: Crouch and Obi get in a tangle that ultimately led to the red-card clash

Crouch said: 'If you go in on Frank Lampard or John Terry, would they roll around like Obi did? I don't think so.

'Would someone like Jamie Carragher have gone down like that? I think it's safe to say he wouldn't.

'Foreign players have brought a lot to our game, but what Obi did is something you don't want to see. I didn't catch him, but he went down like he had been shot.'

The England man's frustration boiled over as he jumped into a twofooted challenge which saw referee Martin Atkinson send him off.

Crouch, however, has pointed the finger of blame at Obi.

Crouch insisted his England team-mates would not have behaved as the 20-year-old Nigerian did, believing the Stamfrod Bridge man overreacted.

Crouch added: 'We were still in the game and could have nicked it. But after the sending-off it was always going to be difficult.

'Obi came in with his studs up and that was in the back of my mind. Then I thought there was another foul.

'There are no excuses for the tackle I made, but if the referee had pulled the foul up when he should have, it wouldn't have happened.

'A lot was going their way and I think frustration got the better of me.'

The unsettled Crouch, meanwhile, has seen Middlesbrough join Portsmouth and Newcastle on the list of his admirers.

Chelsea are set to stoke up their bitter rivalry with Liverpool further by sending a video of Rafa Benitez's players surrounding Atkinson after the red card to the FA.

The London club, who have twice been charged with failing to control their players this season, are putting together a dossier that they will dispatch to the FA to support their claim they have been victimised.

The defeat undoubtedly rounded off a hugely disappointing four days for Benitez, following his side's home defeat by Manchester United, but Fernando Torres has refused to accept the Premier League title is now out of reach.

'I hope we can get to the Champions League Final, or perhaps we will win the Premier League,' the Spain striker said. 'We fear nobody.'