CHARLIE Daniels admitted he had been at fault for giving away a penalty against Crystal Palace but insisted new rules should be applied consistently.

Daniels was penalised by referee Mike Dean for pulling the shirt of Christian Benteke but keeper Artur Boruc intervened superbly to save Yohan Cabaye’s spot-kick.

Joshua King had minutes earlier given Cherries the lead, only for Scott Dann’s late header to earn Palace a share of the spoils.

Referees have been ordered to clamp down on shirt-pulling this season and Dean took centre stage when he twice awarded penalties for similar offences during Stoke’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester City nine days ago.

Daniels conceded his indiscretion had been worthy of a spot-kick under the new laws but stated consistency was imperative in future decisions.

He told the Daily Echo: “I think it was very soft but I’ll be honest, I was grabbing him. I didn’t realise at the time.

“I thought it was very soft but new rules have come into the game and I have to hold my hands up and say I was in the wrong.

“I wasn’t thinking about grabbing him or pulling him down. If you see the video, I’m looking at the ball the whole time and just trying to coax him out of the box.

“But I was holding him so the referee gave it.

“He (Dean) is consistent so if we can make sure all the referees are consistent in that way, then everyone knows the way it’s been set up.

“As long as they can keep it consistent, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Dann’s last-gasp equaliser rocked Cherries after they had repeatedly kept out Palace during a sustained second-half onslaught.

It was a different tale to the first period, in which the visitors enjoyed the better of the game and could have gone into the break further ahead.

Former England Under-21 international Callum Wilson had the best chance to double the lead but, following a neat one-two with Joshua King, was unable to convert with just Steve Mandanda to beat.

Daniels added: “The first half and the second half were totally different. In the first half I felt we were on top, keeping the ball well, moving the ball well and creating a lot of chances.

“I guess the lesson is if we are on top and we get chances then we have to take them.

“This is an unforgiving league and you saw in the second half that it was a backs to the wall job.

“We defended as a team and it showed another side to us. We stood up and to a man, everyone was fighting for the three points.

“We couldn’t fault anyone’s fight, passion or determination to win.

“We defended so well for 45 minutes and to see that last header go in was gut-wrenching.

“But we’ll take the positives out of it. We’ve got our first point on the board and we are going into the international break looking forward.”