Gareth McAuley wrongly sent off by referee Neil Swarbrick after Craig Dawson tackles Wilfried Bony at Manchester City

Confusion reigns at the Etihad following similar incident at Old Trafford

Tom Sheen
Saturday 21 March 2015 14:03 GMT
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(Getty Images)

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A Premier League referee has again wrongly sent off the wrong player, just a month after Wes Brown saw red at Old Trafford.

Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony was racing through on goal when he was tripped over - just outside the area - by West Bromwich centre-back Craig Dawson.

Referee Neil Swarbrick immediately blew his whistle, but Bony continued on his feet for a couple of seconds where Dawson's defensive partner Gareth McAuley (above, right) made another tackle on Bony.

Gareth McAuley (left) and Craig Dawson (right)
Gareth McAuley (left) and Craig Dawson (right) (Getty Images)

However, Swarbrick had seemingly already made up his mind to produce the red card, the right decision, given Dawson was the last man, but he showed it to McAuley rather than Dawson.

West Brom players crowded the ref and McAuley can be seen saying "it's not me" to Mr Swarbrick.

The incident comes hot on the heels of Roger East's blunder at Old Trafford on 28 February, where he sent off Sunderland defender Wes Brown when John O'Shea was the man to foul Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao.

Kieran Gibbs was wrongly shown a red card last season at Stamford Bridge by Andre Marriner after Arsenal team-mate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handled an Eden Hazard shot on the line.

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