Sunderland to appeal Brown red card

Sunderland will appeal Wes Brown’s bizarre dismissal in Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League defeat at Manchester United.

Sunderland have confirmed they will appeal the red card given to Wes Brown by referee Roger East in Saturday’s Premier League clash at Manchester United.

Brown was sent off in bizarre circumstances in the 65th minute of the 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford.

East opted to give Brown his marching orders despite captain John O’Shea having been the man to bring down Radamel Falcao for a penalty, which was converted by Wayne Rooney.

A bemused Sunderland side protested vehemently that East had got the wrong man, but a statement from the referees’ governing body Professional Games Match Officials Limited insisted the official had dismissed Brown for a foul he spotted while Falcao was in the act of shooting.

A Sunderland statement read: “SAFC has confirmed that it will appeal the red card given to Wes Brown in yesterday’s [Saturday] Barclays Premier League game against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

“The club has until 1pm tomorrow [Monday] to lodge its appeal with the FA.”

Meanwhile, Sunderland head coach Gus Poyet has confirmed they will assess forward Ricky Alvarez for Tuesday’s game with Hull City after he missed the loss to United with a knock.