Rory Delap claims his Stoke team-mate Ryan Shawcross was only sent off because of Aaron Ramsey's serious injury and not for the tackle.
The Potters midfield ace spoke out after his defensive team-mate Shawcross was handed a straight red card in Saturday's 3-1 defeat to the Gunners as 19-year-old Wales international Ramsey was left with a badly broken leg following an ill-timed challenge.
Delap said referee Peter Walton probably would not have sent Shawcross off had Ramsey not been so severely injured.
"The referee appeared to react to the seriousness of the incident rather than the actual tackle," he told the Daily Mirror.
"I said to him 'Did you see it?' and he said 'I don't think he meant it - but I've got to send him off.'
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I've been in a similar situation myself when Theo Walcott was injured from a challenge I made on him.
"I caught him but it was more a case of his pace and, well, my lack of it, I guess.
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I've been on the end of it too, when I broke my leg four years ago, so my thoughts are with Aaron."