Ronald Koeman was adamant that referee Michael Oliver made a mistake by sending off Ryan Bertrand.

The left back faces a three game ban, ruling him out of the matches against QPR, West Ham and Liverpool, after being shown a straight red in the closing stages of Swansea’s 1-0 win at St Mary’s.

Bertrand went in hard on Modou Barrow who had to be stretchered from the field, but replays suggested the decision was harsh and Koeman certainly agreed.

“In my opinion it is not a red card,” he insisted.

“These fouls in my opinion is yellow. It’s not a red card.”

Bertrand appeared to end up in a heated argument with Swansea boss Garry Monk after the challenge, but Koeman, who will have to draft Matt Targett into the side in Bertrand’s absence, played it down.

Daily Echo:

“I didn’t see that,” he said.

“He was unhappy about the decision that the referee whistled by the fault and that was before the referee showed the red card and that says enough in my opinion.”