West Brom boss Slaven Bilic says Kieran Gibbs would have avoided a red card had he been "crafty" and gone to ground after being shoulder barged by James Rodriguez.
Bilic also claims Rodriguez was "waiting" for Gibbs to react to his shoulder barge and the defender gave referee Mike Dean no choice but to issue a red card.
West Brom went down to 10 men just before the break when Everton had fought back from going behind to take the lead after goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Rodriguez.
Bilic says the dismissal changed the game "massively" and though his side would make it 2-2 just after the re-start, Everton responded by scoring three more times in the second-half.
"First of all, we only have ourselves to blame, we can't do this at any level of football," he said.
"James Rodriguez clipped him and he stayed on his feet and he then reacted based on that. He didn't give the referee any other option than to give him a red card.
"But if he had been a bit craft or clever, savvy, and if he can go down when Rodriguez's clips him then I don't think he reacts. It would most definitely be a yellow card for Rodriguez and definitely, definitely not a red for Gibbs.
"He didn't go down and reacted with his hand. If you do this, especially with a player who is waiting for that, then it is a straight red and we can't complain."
