David Martindale insists he was using his middle finger to tell the Hibs goalkeeper how long was left when he was sent off for an offensive gesture in the 4-1 defeat.
The Livingston manager was shown a late red card for the interaction with David Marshall at Almondvale on Saturday.
The incident took place just after the visitor’s fourth goal as Mykola Kukharevych sealed a convincing victory for the Easter Road side in injury time.
Martindale says both he and the former Scotland goalkeeper seen the funny side, but the referee never.
He said: “Marshall asked how long was to go and I shouted back ‘there’s a minute left’ with my middle finger.
“He laughed, I laughed and I got sent off for making an offensive gesture.
“Marshall grabbed me in the tunnel and asked if I got sent off for that. I said ‘yes’ and he said that if I needed him to say anything to please let him know.
“Maybe I let the boys down a wee bit with that. I never done it in that context, it wasn’t in anger. Marshall and I were both laughing.
“The referee said he didn’t want to send me off and I said ‘but you did’. Surely in that context it is not offensive and that must carry a bit of weight.
“I would argue it wasn’t done in an offensive way. It was a bit of banter with Marshall. He laughed, I laughed and that was it.”
When asked whether he would appeal the decision, Martindale replied: “I don’t know. I’ll need to get advice on that.”
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