Wigan Athletic discover Charlie Hughes red card appeal decision

The 19-year-old was dismissed by referee Sebastian Stockbridge despite appearing to win the ball from Barnsley forward Devante Cole in the opening quarter of the game.

Television replays have since shown Stockbridge had a couple of players obstructing his vision, and Latics were hoping the authorities agree that the on-field decision was incorrect and the card therefore rescinded.

However, the news was not good when a decision was reached on Wednesday evening, and Hughes – one of Latics’ stand-out performers so far this season – will miss Saturday’s trip to Blackpool through suspension.

Latics boss Shaun Maloney was keen not to make too much of a fuss in the immediate aftermath on Saturday.

He said: “It’s a difficult decision. I’ve seen one angle of it and I can’t decide whether he’s got the ball or the player, so it looked a little bit 50-50.

“I don’t want to complain too much about decisions, sometimes they go for you and this instance it’s gone against us.

“It had a big impact in terms of how the game went, but that’s football and sometimes these things go against you.

“The flow of the game changed immediately after the red card."

Barnsley boss Neill Collins said: “At the time I thought it was a red card but I have not watched it back.

"There were a couple of dubious decisions before that.

“You have to take advantage of it and we’ve done that.”