Roberto De Zerbi revealed Lewis Dunk said “sorry to everyone” for his red card at Nottingham Forest.

The skipper saw yellow, then red after the hosts were awarded a penalty on a VAR pitch-side review.

Albion boss De Zerbi said after the game: “I have not spoken yet with Lewis, he is a good guy, maybe he made a mistake.

“For me the situation is not clear. We have to accept the referee’s decision.

“I always accept the referee’s decision. Dunky is a fan of Brighton, he is not a simple player. We can understand his emotion and his mistakes.

“I don’t like rules. I am not a policeman, I am coach. He said sorry to everyone, he has understood his mistake.”

The Press Association confirmed Dunk received a straight red card for foul and abusive language following Taylor’s decision to award Forest a penalty, which came 21 seconds after he was booked for encroaching while Taylor checked the VAR monitor.

A two-match ban will be usually issued if players are sent off for dissent, which would rule out Dunk for the trip to Chelsea and home game against Brentford.