Dundee boss Paul Hartley has expressed his delight after receiving news that no further action will be taken against him following his dismissal at the end of Tuesday night’s derby at Tannadice.
The manager was given his marching orders by referee John Beaton for what the official deemed his over-zealous celebrations when James McPake netted a last-gasp equaliser.
Hartley insisted the decision was harsh as he was just caught up in the excitement of the moment but he is relieved he has now heard he will not be given a touchline ban.
He said: “I got a letter from the SFA and there’s no action being taken.
“It’s good, they’ve seen sense so I’m pleased.
“You are always worried that you could have to go up in front of them and get a touchline ban.
“But there was no malice in the celebration, it was just excitement after scoring a goal with the final kick of the ball.
“It wasn’t as if I went into the opposing fans or anything.
“You should be allowed to celebrate a goal when United scored, their bench probably did the same.
“But that’s what football is all about, you don’t want to take the enjoyment out of it.
“Sometimes you just can’t help it, it’s the same for players as well. It’s difficult not to celebrate a goal when something like that happens.”
Dundee skipper Kevin Thomson had to come off in the second half of the United game with a calf problem.
However, Hartley is hopeful that the influential midfielder left the field before any lasting damage was done.
The manager said: “Kevin is feeling better today and I think we’ve caught it in time.
“He’s come off at the right time. He’s not used to playing Saturday, Tuesday and then Saturday.
“He’s such an important player for us so we need him as much as possible.
“Thankfully it’s not a serious one, it seemed to just be a bit of fatigue because it has been two tough games.
“We missed him when he went off, the tempo of our play changed and we stopped passing the ball for 15 minutes.”
Dundee now have another derby to look forward to the Tayside one with St Johnstone at Dens tomorrow.
Hartley admits he is expecting a stern test from Tommy Wright’s team.
He added: “It will be tough against St Johnstone. We had a lot of close games last season.
“They had a hard game against Ross County on Tuesday and did well.
“Tommy has done a great job there and they have been in the top six for the last few seasons.
“It’s a tough game but they all are the league is tougher this season.
“It’s going to be hard to get into the top six.”