<text>  Referee Neil Swarbrick has apologised for wrongly sending off West Broms Gareth McAuley during his sides 3-0 loss at Manchester City. McAuley was a victim of mistaken identity when he was shown a red card after Craig Dawson fouled Wilfried Bony in the second minute of the Barclays Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium. Swarbrick has now admitted to his error in a statement from Professional Game Match Officials Ltd, the organisation responsible for refereeing appointments. Referee Neil Swarbrick shows a red card to Gareth McAuley right during the second minute of West Broms match at Manchester City. But it was Craig Dawson who committed the original foul on Wilfried Bony . West Brom defender Craig Dawson makes a challenge on Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony . The Ivorian striker tumbles to the ground under Dawsons challenge . BT Sport showed the incident from referee Swarbricks perspective, with No 25 Dawson the closest to him . Bony continues but Gareth McAuley then comes in with a challenge of his own inside the area . Bony goes to ground again under McAuleys challenge and the West Brom player is sent off . Bony heads to the Etihad Stadium turf after being challenged by McAuley . The West Brom players protest as McAuley is shown the red card by referee Swarbrick . 1 McAuley loses the ball inside his own half, with striker Wilfried Bony now bearing down on goal . 2 Craig Dawson comes across and makes the tackle, sending Bony crashing to the ground . 3 Referee Neil Swarbrick steps in, blowing his whistle to stop play . 4 But Bony has picked himself up quickly and continues to run with the ball into the penalty area, clearly not having heard the whistle . 5 McAuley then comes back to put in another tackle on the City striker . 6 Play finally stops and Swarbrick beckons a player across to him. Dawson does not move, however, putting his hands on his leg . 7 Instead, McAuley walks across to the referee and is then shown the red card . 8 McAuley can be seen saying it wasnt me as players surround the referee. But their protests are to no avail . The statement read: In the second minute of Manchester City v West Bromwich Albion, referee Neil Swarbrick made a decision to send off Gareth McAuley for a denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity offence. The referee has confirmed the offence was caused by a different player, which should be addressed now as a case of mistaken identity. The referee has apologised for his error. Swarbrick left the West Brom players stunned and manager Tony Pulis livid after showing McAuley a straight red card when Dawson had committed the original offence. McAuleys sending off left West Brom with 88 minutes to hold out against City with just 10 men . McAuley was seen mouthing the words its not me to referee Swarbrick but it wasnt enough to change the decision. At half-time, Swarbrick admitted to BT Sport that the first number he saw after the incident was McAuleys No 23, leading to the case of mistaken identity. Speaking on BT Sport at half-time, pundit Steve McManaman said: Its just a simple case of mistaken identity. The decision is right, Wilfried Bony is through and hes denied a goalscoring opportunity. Its a red card. The two players mistaken by referee Swarbrick - McAuley left and Dawson right McAuley walks past his manager Tony Pulis as he leaves the field . Its a simple thing for the referee, Neil Swarbrick, hes just sent the wrong man off. Hes sent McAuley off, he should have sent Dawson off. Ones No 25, the others No 23. Easy enough. Owen Hargreaves added: Dawsons head is down initially because he think hes getting sent off. He just calls the players over, he doesnt call anybody specific. In the end, McAuley comes over rather than Dawson. In that situation, Dawson should be holding his hands up. Its a case of mistaken identity. Its a shame really because its killed the game. Because Wes Browns sending off in Sunderland match at Old Trafford three weeks ago was a case of mistaken identity, both he and John OShea got away with bans. When asked whether the challenge warranted a red card, David James said: Absolutely, hes the last defender. Bony is through one-on-one with the referee, its definitely a red card. The red card was shown just 89 seconds into the match at the Etihad Stadium, leaving West Brom with a mountain to climb against the defending champions. Roger East sent off Sunderlands Wes Brown instead of John OShea after a foul on Radamel Falcao. Baggies players Darren Fletcher, James Morrison and Craig Gardner were seen protesting to Swarbrick as the players left the field for half-time, but to no avail. With 88 minutes to hold out with 10 men, the Baggies lasted 25 until Bony spun inside the box and fired home his first for the club. Fernando doubled their advantage five minutes before the break, smashing home after West Brom failed to clear a corner. And David Silva made absolutely sure 13 minutes from the end, turning home Stevan Jovetics shot with a faint touch. Brown is given his marching orders during the match at Old Trafford despite the fact it was OShea . The former Liverpool player and Sportsmail columnist Jamie Carragher wrote on Kicca: Another case of mistaken identity in a sending off in todays game at the Etihad. Referees need help! We need technology in the biggest sport in the world!! How long do we have to wait? Goal line technology has helped the game but came too late. I would start with mistaken identity for redyellow cards a monitor for the fourth official or the match assessor upstairs to help one of their colleagues. The referee must know from the players reaction hes made a mistake but cant be seen to change his decision that must surely affect the rest of his performance? Last season Andre Marriner wrongly showed Kieran Gibbs a red card when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handled . Gibbs is sent off by referee Marriner during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Arsenal . We can then see how far we can take technology but we have to start somewhere. West Brom wont have anyone suspended now either! It is the second such incident in Manchester in the space of three weeks. On February 28, referee Roger East mistakenly sent off Sunderlands Wes Brown rather than John OShea after a foul on Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao. And last season, Andre Marriner wrongly showed Kieran Gibbs a red card when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handled on the line in Arsenals 6-0 defeat at Chelsea. Gibbs appeals to Marriner after receiving a red card during the match at Stamford Bridge . 