Sunderland to appeal McCartney red

23 March 2009 15:30
Sunderland have confirmed they will appeal against the red card shown to George McCartney in Sunday's Premier League defeat at Manchester City.McCartney was shown a straight red card by referee Steve Tanner in the 15th minute for "denying a goalscoring opportunity" after tugging the shoulder of Shaun Wright-Phillips on the edge of the area.However, replays suggested there was minimal contact while Wright-Phillips was not in full control of the ball.Tanner did not initially appear to see the incident, and only produced the red card after talking to his assistant Mo Matadar.After the game, Black Cats boss Ricky Sbragia called on Tanner to rescind the decision"There was some sort of contact but the goalkeeper had got the ball in his hands," he said. "The referee asked the linesman a question but there was no definitive answer. They ummed and ahhed a bit and came up with that. It was the pivotal moment."If the red card is upheld, McCartney faces a one-match ban that will rule him out of the trip to play his former club West Ham a week on Saturday.[LNB]

Source: Eurosport