REFEREE Roger East has denied he made a mistake in sending off Sunderland defender Wes Brown in Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Manchester United.

East awarded a penalty when John O'Shea brought Radamel Falcao down in the box, but although Brown was close behind his former United teammate, it was the Irish international who made the first contact with the Colombian.

East dismissed Brown for the incident - Wayne Rooney converted the resultant penalty and added another to seal victory - and the referee defended his decision on Saturday night after widespread criticism of the official's actions.

The referee took the unusual step of issuing a statement on Saturday evening to explain his decision.

The statement from the PGMOL, the referees' body, read: "From his position Roger East, the match referee, believed he saw contact from John O'Shea and Wes Brown on Radamel Falcao.

"As he thought Brown made a foul on Falcao while he was in the act of shooting, he dismissed Brown.

"After the incident the match referee consulted with his team of officials but none were better placed to offer guidance."

Sunderland can appeal the red card given to Brown on both wrongful dismissal and mistaken identity, but the FA will deal with the mistaken identity initially, and will then take a decision on the wrongful dismissal claim thereafter.

If Sunderland do not appeal the mistaken identity side of it, the FA could charge the club with misconduct if there is evidence that the club sought to gain an advantage by remaining silent on the matter.

As it stands, Brown will miss Tuesday night's trip to Hull City.