Sampdoria striker Giampaolo Pazzini is adamant his elbow was unintentional after he was sent off on his full Italy debut in last night's 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland.

"I went to jump and get the ball. I did not try to hit the man. I only raised my arm because it was for leverage," said the youngster who was sent off just four minutes into game.

"Frankly I would've been stunned if it had been a yellow card, let alone a red, but that is the decision he took.

"I understood very little at the time. My teammates told me the referee didn't see anything and the linesman lifted the flag.

"It's a great shame, as this was a very important game for us and we wanted to win in order to create a real advantage. That incident changed the match."

There was contact with Manchester United defender John O'Shea, who was bleeding heavily from his eyebrow, but video replays show both players were watching the ball.

"I don't know what made him take that decision, but if you see the footage I didn't move my elbow in any way and did not go towards him. I was just going for the ball," insisted Pazzini.

"We had spoken with the referees about many things during the week, but not about this sort of incident. It's a shame, as looking at the footage, it really did ruin the game.

"Unfortunately, I've never seen a referee go back on his decision when he flashes the red card.

"My teammates had my same sensation, that I jumped normally and did not move my elbow towards him. The footage backs me up."