Former St Johnstone player Allan Preston has appealed for the Perth club not to axe scrapping stars Danny Swanson and Richard Foster.
The radio pundit saw the Saints-turned-sinners clash on the stroke of half-time at Hamilton’s Superseal Stadium.
Players rushed to separate the raging teammates as they made for the tunnel after trading blows.
When the dust settled, Foster and Swanson were both shown red cards by referee Don Robertson and nine-man Saints’ European hopes were dented by a late strike from Accies player Alex D’Acol.
Hamilton coach Guillaume Beuzelin was sent to the stand after being sucked into the mayhem.
The Perth club moved swiftly to suspend both players as they began a probe, with furious boss Tommy Wright pledging tough sanctions if the pair were found guilty.
But one-time McDiarmid midfielder Preston has appealed for clemency.
He said: “St Johnstone have done the right thing by suspending them while they investigate the affair.
“There has been no knee-jerk reaction by the club.
“I sincerely hope the boys aren’t facing the sack. That would be really harsh.
“Both players will be utterly embarrassed by their behaviour. It has made national news.
“It was 30 seconds of utter madness. The red mist came down and they will deeply regret what happened.
“They know they were out of order. But they shook hands and I’m told while the second half was going on they were sitting chatting in the away dressing room.
“There’s not a footballer out there who hasn’t had the red mist descend and done something they regret.
“But look at these two lads down the years and this incident is totally out of character. That should be taken on board.
“And I think you have to remember the good work these players have done for the club this season. Swanson has scored a lot of goals and Foster has been arguably their most consistent performer.
“They have to take what is coming to them and fair enough that will be a heavy sanction.
“They should be facing the maximum fine open to the club of two weeks’ wages and they will automatically miss big games against Hearts and Inverness this week.
“I don’t know what happens with fines for bookings or being late at the club nowadays but in my time they were put into a players’ pool for a night out. That can’t happen in this case.
“Maybe the money could go to subsidise fans travelling to another game this season because they were let down along with the other players and the manager looking for a win to open up the gap on Hearts. That would be my take on it.
“Danny and Richard let down themselves and took the shine off a day when the headlines should have been all about securing another top-six finish.
“This is a club which has no divine right to be in the top half of the league year after year and it is a fantastic achievement to be challenging for fourth and a possible European spot.
“But inevitably it has been overshadowed by what happened on the half-time whistle. It has taken the gloss off their feat.
“They left nine teammates hanging on, trying to hold out for a point. And they almost did it. I thought they were magnificent to a man.
“How many times do we talk about the camaraderie and the team spirit Tommy has at St Johnstone? I’d say it is still there and this won’t change things.”
Preston recalled being caught-up in an on-field rammy in his own playing days at Perth.
He said: “I remember Jim Weir and me having a fight on the pitch at Tannadice when Paul Sturrock was the boss.
“It wasn’t quite as serious but these things do happen. Footballers are competitive by nature and we had a right go at each other.
“Coach John Blackley took us into the shower area at half-time and tore into us.
“He liked our passion but there is a right way and wrong way to show it. What happened at Hamilton was the completely the wrong way.
“They shouldn’t have been falling out in full public view and giving the Hamilton announcer a chance to wind it up by raking out the Rocky tune at half-time.
“I bet that wasn’t on their original playlist.”
