Dan Neil's Sunderland red card: Ex-referee and Middlesbrough fan says Jarred Gillett has 'lost credibility'

Ex-Premier League referee and Middlesbrough fan Jeff Winter has expressed his surprise at Jarred Gillett's decision to send Dan Neil off on Saturday at the Stadium of Light.

The Sunderland midfielder was shown a second yellow card for dissent before half-time with the game still goalless. Tony Mowbray's men would then lose the game 4-0.

"I am the last person you want to take about regarding referees because this game that we're watching now is completely different to one that i was involved with," Winter explained to The Cat's North East breakfast show.

"People will ask me at games: 'Was that a handball? And I will say: 'I don't even know what a handball is!' Things have changed that much. But onto the subject, I wouldn't discuss as much the performance. It all seems to be around one decision.

"I have to be honest, it left me scratching my head because if the Sunderland player has used foul and abusive language and it is that bad, it is a straight red card, a second yellow comes for dissent we presume. What we don't know and I'm not trying to defend the referee but whether he has had constant battle and he's been told he is on a last warning.

"That is the only way I can justify it. To send a player off in game of football, you have to be able to sell it. You don't want it to be a daft one for dissent. I'd like to think in those circumstances with the choice language we could use in our day when we were refereeing, I would have told him in no uncertain terms that was it.

"But to send someone off for dissent as a second yellow card... the laws of the game back the referee but I think you lose a little bit of credibility. If he has taken a Boro player out at the knee then nobody is complaining but for dissent it just didn't sit easily with me.

"You know I'm a Middlesbrough fan so that gives a little bit more clout to the argument so, it is a strange one. I don't think anyone in the ground or anyone watching on TV saw that coming.