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Got the wrong man? We look at when referees punished the incorrect player

Wes Brown is wrongly sent off by Referee Roger East during the match between Manchester United and Sunderland at Old Trafford on February 28, 2015

Wes Brown appeared to be sent off for a foul which was committed by John O’Shea on Radamel Falcao at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The two Sunderland defenders both attempted to prevent the Manchester United striker from unleashing a shot in the box but when O’Shea hauled the Colombian down it was Brown who was shown the red card by referee Roger East.

East has since told match officials’ body PGMOL it was not a case of mistaken identity and that he believed both Brown and O’Shea made contact with Falcao – but Paul Merson was adamant on Soccer Saturday that Brown had been wrongly dismissed.

“I don’t know how the ref gets it wrong,” Merson said. “He sends off Brown and it’s definitely O’Shea. O’Shea is telling him it’s him! That’s a bad mistake.”

Here, we look at some other instances of when the referee has punished the wrong man…

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Kieran Gibbs, Chelsea 6-0 Arsenal

Image: Kieran Gibbs was shocked to see red

When Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain produced a save any goalkeeper would be proud of and handled Eden Hazard’s shot, it seemed the Arsenal midfielder was heading for an early bath. Instead, team-mate Kieran Gibbs was shown a red card by Andre Marriner – despite Oxlade-Chamberlain admitting to the ref it was him who handled the ball.

Initially the red card was passed on to Oxlade-Chamberlain but Arsenal argued he had not prevented a goal-scoring opportunity as Hazard’s shot was going wide. In the end neither player was punished.

Fabio and Rafael da Silva, Barnsley 0-2 Manchester United

Fabio Da SIlva of Manchester United in action during a First Team Training Session at Carrington Training Ground on October 23 2009 in Manchester, England.
Image: Can you tell the Da Silva twins apart?

In fairness to Chris Foy, Fabio and Rafael da Silva are twins, but nonetheless, the referee got the wrong man when he booked the former for a challenge on Jamal Campbell-Ryce in this 2009 League Cup contest.

A late trip by Rafael earned his brother a yellow card but, after an appeal from Manchester United, the booking was eventually transferred to the true offender.

Stephen Warnock and Stylian Petrov, Everton 1-1 Aston Villa

Stephen Warnock of Aston Villa during the Barclays Premier League match between Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park
Image: Stephen Warnock wrongly booked for Villa

Aston Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov initially escaped punishment for a foul on Yakubu against Everton in 2009. Referee Lee Probert instead brandished a yellow card in the direction of Petrov’s team-mate Stephen Warnock.

However, the booking was eventually transferred to the Bulgarian – and Petrov promptly picked up another yellow in his next match against West Ham. The subsequent offence was his fifth caution of the season and saw him banned for one match.

Sergei Ignashevic and Pontus Wernbloom, Man City 1-2 CSKA Moscow

Manchester City players complain to referee Anastasios Sidiropoulos (centre) after the UEFA Champions League Group E match at the Etihad Stadium
Image: City players complain to referee Tasos Sidiropoulos

“Getting the wrong man for a yellow card…it’s laughable,” said Man City captain Vincent Kompany, after referee Tasos Sidiropoulos booked Sergei Ignashevic after Pontus Wernbloom had pulled back Sergio Aguero.

Wernbloom had already been booked and Kompany was incensed he wasn’t sent off – but ref Siriropoulos revealed in his report he’d actually booked Ignashevic for dissent. City had two players sent off in the same match.

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