Referee Neil Swarbrick has apologised for his blunder which saw West Brom defender Gareth McAuley mistakenly sent off in the Baggies' 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday.
The Northern Ireland defender was sent off with just two minutes into the game after Wilfried Bony was impeded when advancing towards goal, however, video replays showed it was actually team-mate Craig Dawson who committed the foul on the Ivory Coast striker.
Baggies manager Tony Pulis was fuming with the decision following the match, saying: “The inconsistency [from referees] is concerning. How in God’s name he sends off the wrong person is just beyond me.
"It really killed the game and I was just thinking about the 30,000 people who have spent good money to come and watch a spectacle, only for it to be all over within two minutes.”
And Swarbrick has now admitted to his error in a statement from Professional Game Match Officials Ltd, the organisation responsible for refereeing appointments.
The statement read: "In the second minute of Manchester City v West Bromwich Albion, referee Neil Swarbrick made a decision to send off Gareth McAuley for a 'denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity' offence.
"The referee has confirmed the offence was caused by a different player, which should be addressed now as a case of mistaken identity. The referee has apologised for his error."
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