sport news League One referee sends off the WRONG Bolton player in farcical clash with ... trends now League One referee sends off the WRONG player after Bolton's Dion Charles punched Forest Green defender Brandon Cooper's during a tussle... but it was his team-mate who should've saw red! A referee sent off the wrong Bolton player in their clash with Forest Green Bolton player Elias Kachunga appeared to punch an opponent off the ball It was team-mate Dion Charles who saw red though in a case of mistaken identity By Sam Mcevoy For Mailonline Published: 09:10 GMT, 25 January 2023 | Updated: 09:16 GMT, 25 January 2023 Viewcomments Bolton's League One clash with Forest Green was marred by farcical scenes on Tuesday after the referee sent off the wrong player. Wanderers found themselves a goal up after just six minutes with Dion Charles tucking away a Gethin Jones cross in what was a perfect start for the hosts. But goalscorer Charles soon found himself become a victim of mistaken identity when he was shown a straight red card in the 28th minute by referee Tom Nield. A League One referee sent off the wrong Bolton player in 1-0 win over Forest Green on Tuesday Bolton forward Elias Kachunga (circled) was seen appearing to throw a punch at Rovers defender Brandon Cooper during an off-the-ball tussle in the first half Charles, understandably, was left utterly bemused by the sending off while the majority of the Bolton University Stadium were left confused as to what had happened until replays of an off-the-ball tussle painted a clear picture. Moments before Charles' sending off, his team-mate Elias Kachunga was caught by the cameras appearing to throw a punch at Rovers defender Brandon Cooper. Play stopped soon after which allowed Nield to discuss with his linesman what they had – or hadn't – saw. With the wrong end of the stick, the League One official identified Charles has the guilty party, who was drinking some water by the side of the pitch when he was given his marching orders. Play stopped soon after which allowed the ref to discuss with his linesman what they had saw Dion Charles (centre) pleads his innocence to referee Tom Nield after he was wrongly sent off Bolton's official Twitter account questioned the decision during their live blog. The club's admin tweeted: 'Dion Charles has been sent off. Some confusion around the ground, we're not sure what's happened there!?' Sky Sports' legendary commentator Chris Kamara saw the funny side of the sending off, claiming Bolton were 'bringing a sub on' in reference to his iconic and hilarious gaffe while live on air. While Kamara saw the funny side, Bolton manager Ian Evatt was left utterly stunned by the decision. Evatt said after the match: 'We cannot deny that Elias has let everybody down, showing that lack of discipline is not acceptable and he's apologised to the group. Sky Sports' legendary commentator Chris Kamara saw the funny side of things on Twitter 'For the linesman to spot it is a good spot but then to get a player involved and sent off who was 15 yards away from the incident is baffling. 'There is enough finance in the game for us to be able to have VAR for every division in the English pyramid. This is equally important to us as it is to any Premier League team.' Despite being a man down for over the remaining hour of the game, the 10 men of Bolton held on to stay three points behind fourth-placed Derby, who scored twice in the final three minutes to beat Port Vale 2-1. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility