Watch: Brighton's Stephens sent off minutes after scoring equaliser

Brighton & Hove Albion fans might feel a little indifferent about Dale Stephens after the midfielder's equaliser against Middlesbrough was followed by bitter disappointment when he was shown a straight red card.

As Middlesbrough enjoyed a 1-0 lead in a match dubbed the richest in football, with the winner guaranteed automatic promotion to the Premier League, Stephens got on the end of a looping cross into the box to bring Brighton level less than 10 minutes after the break.

However, the euphoria in the away section at Riverside Stadium was gone five minutes later when Stephens' horror tackle on Gaston Ramirez left match official Mike Dean with no option but to produce a red card.

The tackle looked relatively innocuous until Ramirez pulled his sock down to reveal a massive, gaping wound on his shin.