Referee Neil Swarbrick has apologised for wrongly sending off West Brom's Gareth McAuley during his side's 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 Brom's 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 Dawson's challenge . BT Sport showed the incident from referee Swarbrick's 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 McAuley's 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 wasn't 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. McAuley's sending off left West Brom with 88 minutes to hold out against City with just 10 men . McAuley was seen mouthing the words 'it's not me' to referee Swarbrick but it wasn't enough to change the decision. At half-time, Swarbrick admitted to BT Sport that the first number he saw after the incident was McAuley's No 23, leading to the case of mistaken identity. Speaking on BT Sport at half-time, pundit Steve McManaman said: 'It's just a simple case of mistaken identity. The decision is right, Wilfried Bony is through and he's denied a goalscoring opportunity. It's 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 . 'It's a simple thing for the referee, Neil Swarbrick, he's just sent the wrong man off. He's sent McAuley off, he should have sent Dawson off. One's No 25, the other's No 23. Easy enough.' Owen Hargreaves added: 'Dawson's head is down initially because he think he's getting sent off. He just calls the players over, he doesn't call anybody specific. 'In the end, McAuley comes over rather than Dawson. In that situation, Dawson should be holding his hands up. It's a case of mistaken identity. It's a shame really because it's killed the game.' Because Wes Brown's sending off in Sunderland match at Old Trafford three weeks ago was a case of mistaken identity, both he and John O'Shea got away with bans. When asked whether the challenge warranted a red card, David James said: 'Absolutely, he's the last defender. Bony is through one-on-one with the referee, it's 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 Sunderland's Wes Brown instead of  John O'Shea 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 Jovetic's shot with a faint touch. Brown is given his marching orders during the match at Old Trafford despite the fact it was O'Shea . The former Liverpool player and Sportsmail columnist Jamie Carragher wrote on Kicca: 'Another case of mistaken identity in a sending off in today's 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 red/yellow 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 he's made a mistake but can't 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 won't 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 Sunderland's Wes Brown rather than John O'Shea 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 Arsenal's 6-0 defeat at Chelsea. Gibbs appeals to Marriner after receiving a red card during the  match at Stamford Bridge .
Neil Swarbrick has issued an apology after making the error . Incident happened in the second minute of Premier League clash at Etihad . Wilfried Bony was initially fouled outside the area by Craig Dawson . The City striker continued but was then brought down by McAuley . Referee Neil Swarbrick issued McAuley straight red for his foul . Dawson went unpunished for the original tackle . Jamie Carragher calls for television replays to help referees . Follows Sunderland case of mistaken identity three weeks ago when Wes Brown was sent off instead of John O'Shea at Old Trafford . Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City went on to win the game 3-0 . Wilfried Bony, Fernando and David Silva scored the Citizen's goals .