But the Albion boss played down any bad feeling at the final whistle, saying: “There was no problem and I shook hands with Lee.
“If you ask me if I liked his reaction to the incident involving Romain, I would say no, but maybe in his position I would have done the same.”
In the 75th minute Sawyers reacted angrily to being fouled by Jamie Paterson and appeared to grab the City substitute by the throat.
After consulting an assistant, referee Darren England issued a straight red card.
Bilic added: “I’m told [Sawyers] and Paterson have known each other for years. When he grabbed him it was just to say ‘what are you doing?’ because he had been fouled several times from behind.
“Sometimes referees need to look at the whole package when dealing with an incident.
This story is from the February 23, 2020 edition of The Football League Paper.
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This story is from the February 23, 2020 edition of The Football League Paper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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