Stoke City midfielder Glenn Whelan has claimed that Ryan Shawcross did not deserve to be sent off in the club's defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Shawcross was dismissed in the 47th minute for his second bookable offence after bringing down Duncan Watmore, and Whelan has insisted that his teammate won the ball in his challenge with the England Under-21 international.
The Republic of Ireland international believes that the sending-off changed the course of the contest, but he does not begrudge the Black Cats their victory.
Whelan told the Stoke Sentinel: "I think there was a double touch, so even if Ryan didn't get there first he did after Watmore had nipped it. If he got a touch then it's not a sending-off.
"It changed the game, but you have to give credit to Sunderland. They worked extremely hard and possibly deserved the result they got.
"Going down to 10 men against anyone isn't great, but to give the goals away like we did was pretty poor as well. It was a disappointing day."
Stoke are 12th in the Premier League after 14 matches this season.
Simon Sinclair
