"It was definitely harsh," Etherington told BBC Radio Stoke. "We do seem to be getting the harsh end of everything.
"The referee could use a bit of common sense and give him another chance. It's two mistimed tackles and two bookings."
The 28-year-old winger continued: "Referees have got a hard job, especially at the Britannia Stadium, where the atmosphere's unbelievable.
"The fans do put the referees under a lot of pressure and like the manager [Tony Pulis] has said, I think it's a case of them wanting to stand up to it."
Dean has shown six red cards in the Premier League this season, three of them to Stoke players.
Abdoulaye Faye was sent off in the 2-1 defeat at Hull in November, while full-back Andy Wilkinson was dismissed in a 2-1 victory for the Potters at Portsmouth in February.
Pulis was also annoyed with Dean in September, when he added on a total of 13 additional minutes in a 2-1 home defeat to Chelsea, with the winning goal from Florent Malouda coming late in second-half stoppage time.
Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport