Former Premier League referee says McGowan should not have been sent off against Crawley

A former Premier League referee has confirmed that Aaron McGowan should not have been sent off during Saturday’s Sky Bet League Two fixture against Crawley Town.

Chris Foy, who refereed in the Premier League between 2001 and 2015, analysis key incidents from each weekend for a ‘Behind the Whistle’ feature on the Sky Sports website, and this week he looked at McGowan’s red card against Crawley Town. The defender was sent off for ‘violent conduct’ after a seemingly innocuous incident with Jack Roles.

Foy said: "There is a 'coming-together' off the ball between the attacking and defending players, however I'm not convinced there is clear evidence of an act of violent conduct.

"I think with the benefit of reviewing the footage, the better course of action would have been to show a yellow card to both players for their unsporting actions."

Despite that, however, Cobblers were unsuccessful in their appeal to get McGowan’s red card overturned.