Dundee United boss Jackie McNamara has decided to appeal against the red card issued to Nadir Ciftci during the battle of Inverness.
The Turkish striker was sent off near the end of the first half of the ill-tempered Scottish League Cup quarter-final at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday night.
In the mayhem that followed an apparent foul on United man Gary Mackay-Steven by Caley Thistle captain Richie Foran, which went unpunished by referee Kevin Clancy, Ciftci was deemed to be guilty of using violent conduct by raising his hands and grabbing opponent Graeme Shinnie’s face.
The ordering-off would ultimately prove costly. The visitors were leading 1-0 at the time of Ciftci’s exit but, after losing an equaliser early in the second half, they conceded another goal in the final minute of extra-time.
United boss McNamara was measured in his post-match comments but now, having studied TV footage of the incident, he has decided to challenge it.
The club confirmed the move on Twitter.
Tannadice skipper Sean Dillon has argued that if the Mackay-Steven incident had been dealt with promptly then the mass brawl may not have happened.
“I don’t want to get involved in knocking anyone else but you had some people seeing things and some people not seeing things,” said Dillon.
“If the first one (Mackay-Steven’s) is dealt with straight away then I don’t think anything else happens after that.
“For whatever reason Gaz’s incident isn’t seen but it doesn’t mean everyone has the right to pile in.
“The linesman seemed to make the decision (on Ciftci) from what I gathered. He says there was a striking out.”
United travel to Celtic Park to take on the champions on Saturday and Dillon wants minds to switch to that.
“Now we need to move on and prepare for the weekend,” he said. “We are obviously disappointed to be out the cup and it was a bad goal to concede at the end from my point of view.
“But there were a lot of plusses to take from the game. The fact that we went for so long with 10 men showed a lot of heart and the lads deserve credit for that.
“We can keep our heads up. The players will be tired but there are a few days to recover and prepare for Saturday’s game.”
Until the appeal, Ciftci was due to be suspended for Parkhead but the Tangerines also have other worries.
Full-back Andrew Robertson hobbled off injured and must be considered a major doubt, while goalkeeper Rado Cierzniak played on while limping.
Meanhwile, United’s home game against Hibs scheduled for Saturday, January 4, will now take place a day later with the same 3pm kick-off.