Jones was sent off in first-half stoppage time for raising his hands and pushing the Hammers player, who fell to the ground clutching his face.

The Black Cats were 2-1 down when Jones was dismissed by referee Andre Marriner, Guillermo Franco and Carlton Cole netting for West Ham before Andy Reid pulled one back.

Kieran Richardson tapped home an equaliser in the 76th minute and the visitors also finished the thrilling contest a man light after Radoslav Kovac was sent off late on.

Though delighted by his side's fightback, Bruce was less than impressed by Ilunga.

He said: "Kenwyne was wrong, I can't defend him. He's pushed him. That's all it is.

"Then I see the play-acting and then the medical people running on with an ice pack on an eye injury as if he's got a cut eye and there's nothing there. It's all just a ploy.

"I think there was Big Sam's (Sam Allardyce) quote in the week that if we're not careful we're going to turn it into a game for pansies.

"The referee has got a decision to make but I have to say Ilunga's play-acting left a lot to be desired.

"Whoever it was with the ice swab; he pulled it away and I was looking for a big gash of an inch and a half, I was looking to see if there was a bump. There wasn't even a bruise.

"The one thing that we don't want to see is what goes on around the world, all this diving nonsense. We want to see a spectacle and we got one, but let's not take away what everybody wants to see.

"They don't want to see this play-acting and trying to kid everybody."

Bruce confirmed he spoke to Marriner at half-time and that Jones would be punished by the club.

He added: "He pushed him in the chest. To go on like Ilunga's gone down, I would have been embarrassed.

"I would have smacked my kids' backsides if they had have done anything like that when they were playing football."

Bruce felt his side could even have won the game with 10 men and West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola hailed Sunderland's fightback as "remarkable".

But the Italian admitted he could not tolerate the second-half display which denied his side a first win since the opening day of the season.

Zola said: "Certainly their determination, their desire, was superior to ours, simple as that. They just overcame the man light that they had and that was it.

"We lost control of the game. From a game that was totally, totally ours, we let them in and in this league you can't afford that. We had chances after but it was too late.

"From how the team played in the first half we should come out with a victory. To be fair their comeback was remarkable because it wasn't an easy situation."

Last weekend it was the Hammers who came from 2-0 down to claim a draw against Arsenal.

Zola added: "They did the same to us and it was remarkable the fighting spirit they had and the desire to come back.

"But we have to be a little bit more cynical in situations like that because the game in my opinion was finished.

"We lost control and I cannot tolerate that."

Zola admitted the red card shown to Jones was perhaps a little harsh but was also disappointed with Kovac's dismissal, the Czech picking up a second yellow for a foul on Bent.

He added: "Kovac didn't even see the guy. There was no intention."