Adams thudded into Xhaka’s ankle in the second half at the Vitality Stadium, but Gillett bizarrely awarded Bournemouth a free-kick before booking the Cherries midfielder for the incident.
In a game peppered with controversial moments, VAR looked at the incident but decided not to instruct Gillett to revisit the challenge, which could easily have resulted in a straight red card, on his pitchside monitor.
“It [Adams on Xhaka] was a foot-on-foot challenge, and that is always dangerous,” said Le Bris. “Often in this league, when you have this kind of action, it is a red card.
“It wasn’t, even though it was really dangerous. There were a couple of situations like that where things were just on the edge for the integrity of the players.
“I think it is important to protect them, even if the intensity of the game was high. It as right on the edge today.”
Gillett had already been involved in a hugely-controversial moment when Xhaka was fouled as he failed to award Sunderland a fourth-minute penalty despite Alex Jimenez barging over Enzo Le Fee in the box.
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It looked a clear-cut penalty, but Gillett waved play on and a VAR check deemed the incident to be “normal contact” inside the 18-yard box.
“I think it [penalty decision] would have changed things a lot, but it is what it is,” said Le Bris. “We can’t change the decision now.”
Sunderland’s draw nevertheless ended a run of three successive league defeats, with the Black Cats matching their opponents for energy and intensity throughout the game.
Eliezer Mayenda opened the scoring in the first half, and Habib Diarra failed to convert an excellent opportunity to double Sunderland’s lead at the start of the second period before Evanilson equalised for Bournemouth as he converted Marcu Tavernier’s cross.
“It is a good point after a run of three defeats,” said Le Bris. “We know this league is relentless and demanding. When you start to lose, it’s hard to break this dynamic.
“Bournemouth is a tough place to play because they are an intense, duel-driven, sprinting team. It was important to match this intensity.
“We showed that character and resilience, and good togetherness as well. After that, we had good periods with quality. Probably not enough to score another goal, but I am especially happy with the team spirit.”