Lee Ashcroft admits the handball rule leaves him baffled.
The big defender was ruled to have handled the ball in the area as Lawrence Shankland smashed a shot at him from around a yard away.
Referee Graham Grainger pointed to the spot, Hearts score and then go on to win the game.
Dundee, of course, were furious at the decision.
For Ashcroft, though, it was more than anger. More a genuine dismay at the fate of defenders in that situation.
“I have no idea what I am supposed to do!” he said.
“I genuinely have no idea. I was from me to you away and my hands are against my chest.
“He blows so quick and it is a tough one. I don’t know what we are supposed to do.
“I understand if my hands are away out and it is clear and obvious but I have no idea what I am supposed to do.
“We scored a fantastic goal and then for the penalty to be given against us was just a kick in the teeth.
“They score that and then we lose a naive goal. It was just a kick up the park and it was at a time when we could have fouled or whatever to maybe help ourselves out a bit more.
“But then Shanks does what he does, he gets a half yard and he is in.
“It was a very frustrating afternoon as I felt we were comfortable in the game especially when we went 2-1 up.
“But I think the penalty was the massive factor in turning the game.”
VAR?
And Ashcroft admits he expected VAR to come to the rescue for the Dark Blues.
“The referee said it was getting checked and I was confident that they would look at it and overturn it,” the defender added.
“It has hit my hand but I was confident it would get overturned.
“Obviously they score and it is very frustrating.
“It happens quite a lot now in football where you see harsh decisions given against defenders.
“It is very hard not to go off on one at the ref. Listen, the ref has the hardest job on the park but ultimately it was given.
“It was not how we lost the game but it is maybe a big factor.”
‘Killer’
The penalty was a turning point in the match.
Before it, Dundee were 2-1 up and defending well. However, they let slip a third for Hearts – a second for Shankland – in the closing stages.
And that only adds to the dark blue frustration.
“There are things in the game where you can do things better to prevent these situations from happening,” Ashcroft added.
“Hearts are always going to test you because they are a good side but we felt comfortable in the game.
“I felt we were strong enough, solid but when it goes to two each we could probably have seen the game out a bit better and maybe just accept a point.
“But the third goal was a killer for us and it leaves us with nothing.
“It was a hard one to take.”
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