Town manager Joe Royle was unhappy that Kevin Kyle, the scorer of Sunderland's winning goal, was not sent off for a number of bookable offences in the first half of the Blues' 3-2 loss at the Stadium of Light.
Kyle was booked for kicking the ball away after a foul on Richard Naylor then later in the half went in very late on Town defender Georges Santos.
Royle says he isn't keen on players being dismissed but felt Kyle deserved to go: "I don't want to see players sent off, but the lad who scored the winner should not have even been on the pitch.
"He could have been sent off twice in the first half and Mick McCarthy has acknowledged that.
"He has calmed him down at half-time but we will have a player sent off at some stage of the season for less than that.
"I would have been disappointed to come away with a draw so you can imagine how I feel. The first goal we conceded was criminal, our inability to defend crosses is criminal.
"Our goalkeeper has had an outstanding season yet we have not had a clean sheet."
Mick McCarthy felt that Kyle had a great game and that Town were the best side his team has faced this season: "Too many things happened in the game for it [Kyle not being sent off] to be an issue.
"I thought the lad was different class, he excites the crowd, he frustrates them, he lifts them and he will do for me.
"Markers will be sick of the sight of him but let's not get carried away, centre halves are no shrinking violets, I know from experience. He is not a dirty player.
"But I thought it was a brilliant game. They were better than us, the best team we have played this season."