BRIGHTON striker Ashley Barnes could be facing a four-match ban.

There was confusion on Saturday over why he had been sent off in the dying moments of Wanderers’ 1-0 win at the Reebok.

It seemed at first as if dissent had been the issue – but referee Nigel Miller reportedly confirmed on his way out of the ground that the red card had been handed out because Barnes had attempted to trip him.

Pictures and replays appear inconclusive, which means that the Football Association will have to first read the County Durham official’s report before deciding on disciplinary action.

Gus Poyet was also looking to take his time before commenting on the matter.

Barnes had been sent off at the start of last month against Sheffield Wednesday but Poyet did not want to rush into making judgements.

“My way of managing this is I prefer the player to calm down because if you go to the dressing room and you ask them straight away then they will put their excuse in there and blame somebody else,” he said.

Poyet was in no way disappointed by his side’s performance at the Reebok and took the fact that Dougie Freedman brought on defensive recruits in David Wheater and Medo in the second half as a compliment.

“It was our best game away from home for a while, absolutely no doubt. We controlled it by passing and by putting pressure on the opposition,” he said.

“We had more shots and we really wanted to win the game, the only disappointing part is the result, the rest was very good and I liked it.

“When the opposition have to change an offensive player and put on a defender it means your team are doing quite well.”