Martin O'Neill has leapt to the defence of David Meyler following the incident which saw Robert Huth sent off last weekend.
Huth was dismissed for a challenge on Meyler but Stoke boss Tony Pulis claimed the Sunderland man had made the most of the situation to get his defender sent off and urged the PFA to take action to stamp out play-acting by players.
After having had the opportunity to watch the incident again O'Neill has jumped to Meyler's defence.
"I thought at the time it was a red and I watched the incident back again on Sunday," O'Neill told the club website. "It was a poor challenge and given the conditions, the referee had very little alternative.
"While Tony's point about players in general has merit, David Meyler is absolutely and utterly not one of them.
"This young lad has had an injury-stricken career and naturally was doing his utmost to avoid the challenge. He was still caught though."