HARRY Arter insisted he would never try to hurt a fellow professional after Stoke boss Mark Hughes slammed his "terrible" tackle on Potters midfielder Joe Allen.

The Cherries star was booked for the first-half challenge, with replays of the incident suggesting he had been lucky to avoid stronger punishment.

It wasn't until he saw a rerun himself, however, that Arter appreciated why the tackle had caused such a stir.

And he was quick to express his gratitude to Allen for not "rolling around" in a bid to get him sent off.

Arter told the Daily Echo: "At the time I thought I got the ball. But I have seen it again and it looked worse than I thought it was.

"My only intention was to win the ball. In real time, hand on heart, I didn’t think it would be a free-kick.

"I have never committed a tackle like that – that is not the sort of player I am. I have never gone in for a tackle and hurt anybody. And I would never hope to do that. I apologised quite a few times to Joe – straight afterwards and at half-time.

"He felt the force of the tackle and was unhappy about it. I want to say, his reaction was good. He didn’t roll around and try to get me sent off.

"I really appreciate that. If I did catch him I certainly didn’t mean to."

With social media providing a platform for instant reaction, Arter's name was trending on Twitter before the match had finished.

The midfielder was expecting the pundits on Saturday night's Match of the Day to focus on his tackle – although he wasn't planing to tune in, given he had lone parenting duties for the evening.

He would have missed fellow Irishman Kevin Kilbane describing the challenge as "horrendous", and Danny Murphy calling it a "leg-breaker".

"That is all part and parcel of football," continued Arter. "For those guys, it is their job, they have to analyse things. Whatever anyone’s opinion is, they are entitled to it.

"If I was to be criticised that is down to the pundit and, no disrespect, they have to make a living. It’s what they enjoy doing, which is fine.

"It would be bad of me to turn around and say ‘I’m not bothered what they say’, because when they say nice things you take it and appreciate it.

"With the top pundits, like Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker – people who have been in the game a long time and players who have achieved a lot – you fully respect what they say.

"If they do comment on it I will take what they say and try to learn from it."

Boss Eddie Howe was keen to defend his player and thought referee Paul Tierney was right to settle for booking Arter.

He said: "That’s how Harry plays. He’s right on the edge, very competitive and very honest in the respect that he only sees the ball.

“From what I saw, I thought he got the ball cleanly. I think five or 10 years ago it would have been seen as a magnificent tackle. Now, I think tackles like that are viewed slightly differently but I thought the referee made the right decision.”

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