Leicester Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill has hit out at the referee in the wake of his side's defeat at home to London Irish.

Irish earned their first victory at Welford Road in 11 years on Saturday as they secured a 22-19 triumph in the Aviva Premiership.

Despite praising his team for putting in an solid display yesterday afternoon, Cockerill believes that some bad officiating contributed to the result.

"I thought the team fronted up really well. It was a very tight game that could have gone either way. Some crucial refereeing decisions went against us," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

"I'm unhappy with how he officiated and it was crucial to the game. I didn't think the referee had a good performance."

Leicester continue their league campaign next Saturday when they make the trip to Gloucester Rugby.