Albion are fighting the red card given to Ashley Barnes in Saturday’s controversial home defeat by Burnley.

They lodged an appeal to the Football Association before yesterday’s 5.30pm deadline.

Barnes was sent off by referee Craig Pawson in the 12th minute of the match at The Amex for stamping on Chris McCann in a tackle with the Burnley captain.

Team-mate Romain Vincelot had already been dismissed for a retaliatory punch to the ribs of Burnley midfielder Marvin Bartley and the Seagulls’ nine men lost 1-0, despite putting up a brave fight.

Albion initially served notice to the FA of their intention to appeal before 1pm, as the regulations require. They spent the rest of the afternoon discussing and analysing the incident further before pressing ahead.

The appeal will be fast-tracked and Albion will argue, via video evidence and a supporting statement, that Barnes was trying to hurdle McCann’s sliding challenge.

Managing director Ken Brown told The Argus: “I think the footage supports that. My expectation is it will be dealt with by Thursday, maybe even earlier.

“It was a case of looking at all the footage we had, taking views of people around the club and separating ourselves from the extraordinary fervour of the game.

“Personally I thought both sending-offs were harsh but I think in particular Ashley’s was not justified. I think we have footage that indicates that and hope we can support that in written form to the FA.”

Albion are aware Barnes’ three-match ban could be increased if the appeal fails but Brown added: “We are not in the business of appealing randomly.”

Technical reasons prevented them from consulting a Sussex-based ex-referee, as they have in previous cases.

Former referee Dermot Gallagher, speaking earlier in the day on Sky Sports News, said: “It was a terrible tackle and Ashley Barnes deserved a red card but Chris McCann was lucky not to get a red card for his reaction to the tackle.”

Meanwhile, Albion’s FA Youth Cup fourth round tie away to West Ham will be played at Upton Park on Wednesday January 11 (7pm).