Albion may have been robbed of the chance of Wembley glory - by one of the most lenient refs in the country.

Boss Chris Hughton was adamant Kyle Walker should have been sent-off for touching heads with Alireza Jahanbakhsh 32 minutes into the 1-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat against Manchester City at Wembley.

Referee Anthony Taylor's yellow card verdict for Walker was confirmed by Video Assistant Referee Paul Tierney.

The Argus:

Now The Argus can reveal why Albion must be wishing Mike Dean, not Tierney, had been the VAR.

Dean issued his 100th Premier League red card when he sent-off Manchester United defender Ashley Young at Wolves on Tuesday.

Tierney, meanwhile, has dismissed only one player in his last 65 matches, ironically against Manchester City.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Southampton's match winner in Albion's last game at the Amex, saw red in the closing stages of their defeat by City at St Mary's in December for a lunging tackle on Fernandinho.

Tierney missed an elbow by Florin Andone in Albion's FA Cup fourth round replay victory at West Brom.

The Romanian striker was respectively banned for three games for violent conduct.