Ipswich Town had to replace substitute Marcelino Nunez to protect their2-0 East Anglian derby win at Norwich City, according to boss Kieran McKenna.
The midfielder made his first return to Carrow Road since leaving the Canaries to join Ipswich in August 2025 and was given a hostile reception by the home fans.
Nunez was introduced as a 61st-minute replacement but after being shown a yellow card was substituted with six minutes remaining.
"It was a difficult scenario for him, we protected it a little at the start but he's such an important player for us so when he came on the opponents were going to be wiring into him and trying to affect him physically and mentally," said McKenna
"The crowd were also going to try to get him sent off if he made challenges but would it have been such a big thing in a different game? I don't think it would have been."
With Norwich supporters howling for free kicks every time Nunez made a tackle he was hauled off and replaced by Dan Neil with McKenna keen to help not just the player but also his team.
"I thought the referee stayed strong but we couldn't give him any more decisons to make so we had to protect Marcelino and the group from that which is why we made the change," he added.
Ipswich moved back into second place in the Championship table with the win and visit Portsmouth on Tuesday (20:00 BST).
