I was at the Portsmouth v Sunderland game and in a very good position to see the incident. There was no way the defender could have reached the ball, he had more than one nibble. I think the home side would have been incandescent had he not gone red, and I would have sympathised with them.
I did find Mr Bankes somewhere between ok and erratic, it was for League One a pretty big game, 20,000 in with 3,000 away fans so the atmosphere was excellent and that in itself I felt may have been the reason for his lack of consistency. I am not saying the game was too big for him, but Fratton being old school stands with terraces on top of the lines it is one of the noisiest grounds in the country.
He missed a red for a stamp from H3, but what you don't see you can't give and he was preoccupied by A6 (the less than delightful Cattermole) shouting in his face. Ironic.
No idea what level Mr Bankes is but he was ok is about as kind as I can get, if he is an aspiring SG1, I would have concerns.