England captain Wayne Rooney scored twice to help Manchester United beat Sunderland 2-0 and reclaim the third spot in the Premier League table on Saturday at Old Trafford.
Following a goalless first-half, Rooney put United ahead in the 66th minute after a foul on teammate Radamel Falcao, for which Wes Brown was send off instead of John O'Shea, the BBC reported.
Referee Roger East's decision to red-card Brown elicited protests from the visitors and subsequently, Rooney added a second goal through a header after Adnan Januzaj's shot deflected into his path.
Releasing a statement, the referees' body in English football claimed that East had seen contact from both O'Shea and Brown on Falcao, adding that East decided to dismiss Brown and not O'Shea as he thought the former had fouled Falcao while he was in the act of shooting.