Sunderland boss Gus Poyet called for referees' chief Mike Riley to apologise to him after the Black Cats were beaten 2-0 at Stoke in controversial circumstances.
Poyet's side, already 1-0 down at the time, were reduced to 10 men in the 36th minute of the Barclays Premier League contest when referee Kevin Friend deemed a sliding tackle from Wes Brown on Charlie Adam to be worthy of a straight red card.
Brown, who was travelling at considerable speed, won the ball with the challenge and replays suggested any contact between the two players had been minimal.
Friend's call drew an angry reaction from Poyet and, when asked about the incident after the match, the Uruguayan manager said: "I would like the referees' association (the Professional Game Match Officials Board) to apologise to me this time.
"They did it last week. I think it is fair - they called a British manager and I think it is time for them to call a foreign manager.
"Then, the referee will have said it was not a red card and I don't need to appeal."
Riley, who heads the PGMOB, recently contacted West Brom boss Steve Clarke to apologise for referee Andre Marriner's contentious decision to award a late penalty to Chelsea in Albion's league game at Stamford Bridge on November 9, a spot-kick which was converted by Eden Hazard and saw the contest end 2-2.
Poyet was in no doubt that the Brown-Adam incident merited a similar response from Riley and brought a laptop with him to his post-match press conference, which he offered to use to show footage of what had happened to the assembled media.
Poyet said: "I'm not going to comment on the referee because I don't want to get fined.
"Did you see the action? Look at the computer - if you want, we will watch it. If you didn't see it, feel free to do so, from every angle.
"Charlie said he (Brown) touched his shinpad but he kept running - he didn't go down (immediately) and he is not in hospital.
"There is no doubt about it. It was the referee who made the decision and he took three or four seconds to give the foul, which was not even a foul."
In the five league matches Poyet has overseen since he succeeded the sacked Paolo Di Canio at Sunderland - who are now back to the bottom of the table - there have been three Black Cats players sent off.
And asked if he thought the Wearside outfit were getting a reputation with referees, Poyet said: "It's a good question and I think we should ask Mike Riley.
"He could tell us that. Let's see what they tell the referees inside. Let's see what they do next week when we make a tackle."
Giving his view of the incident, Stoke boss Mark Hughes said: "I'm sure Gus feels a little bit aggrieved about it, but my interpretation of it was that maybe Wes was a little bit out of control and a little bit reckless.
"At the time I thought it was a poor challenge. Whether or not it merited a sending-off that is obviously the debate after the game, which is a shame because it takes the shine off our performance. We played really well today.
"I've looked at it myself on a laptop and I think from different angles it looks worse than from other angles.
"Obviously the referee, from his angle, felt it merited a sending-off and I can understand why that's the case.
"Charlie got caught on the outside of his legs about shin-level. We can get a video on a laptop and take a look if you want!"
Adam had given Stoke the lead six minutes prior to the red card incident, slotting in from a cut-back by Steven Nzonzi, who then neatly converted his team's second in the 81st minute having been teed up by Peter Crouch's through-ball.
The Potters, who had been 17th at the start of the day and separated from the relegation zone by goal difference alone, moved up to 14th after the result.
Source: PA
