Decision to send off Dara O'Shea during Burnley's defeat against Everton branded 'harsh' by former referee

The Irishman was dismissed during the second-half at Goodison Park on Saturday after fouling former Claret Dwight McNeil as the last man.

The decision was criticised by manager Vincent Kompany though, who questioned if McNeil would have kept hold of the ball as he ran through on goal.

“The letter of the law says he should have been denying a goalscoring opportunity to be sent off. I’ll let you guys make your own judgement on that,” he said.

“There was a lot of force on that ball so it was a pretty comfortable pick up for the goalkeeper, but I guess you guys will make your own minds up on this one.”

Kompany’s view was also shared by former official Dermot Gallagher, while analysing the incident on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch.

"I thought it was harsh at the time,” he said.

“I look at it and thought, A: distance to goal; B: is he in possession of the ball? No; C: is he likely to get possession? Unlikely. The goalkeeper would have mopped that up.”

Fellow panel member Stephen Warnock also weighed in, suggesting referee Michael Oliver could have received more assistance from his fellow officials.

"I think VAR has let the referee down here,” he said.

O’Shea’s dismissal was the seventh red card shown to a Burnley player this season, the most of any club in the top flight.