Aberdeen have announced they will be appealing Michael Devlin's red card against Kilmarnock on Saturday.
The former Hamilton skipper was dismissed just five minutes into the Pittodrie match after he was adjudged to have denied Killie frontman Eamonn Brophy a goalscoring chance.
However, TV footage appears to show Devlin's former Accies team-mate going down rather easily and now the Dons have decided to challenge referee Craig Thomson's decision.
They said in a statement: "The club can confirm they have submitted an appeal to the SFA for the red card given to Michael Devlin during the Ladbrokes Premiership match against Kilmarnock on Saturday."
Boss Derek McInnes was critical of Thomson's display as his side went on to suffer their first defeat to Killie in six years as they slumped 2-0.
Brophy's free-kick gave Kilmarnock the lead just before half-time but McInnes felt the set-piece should never have been awarded after Stephen O'Donnell appeared to handle the ball in the build-up to the visitors' set-piece award.
He said: "We are disappointed with some of the decisions. It is tough when you go down to 10 men so early on.
"Rightly or wrongly, whether he has deemed it as the last man, it is debatable to say the least.
"We conceded a very good goal from their point of view in terms of the quality of the free-kick. But the build-up to the goal, we feel really aggrieved by.
"It is different if my player plays the ball against O'Donnell and it has hit his arm. But it is actually his bad control which meant he took it on his arm. The momentum pushed it forward into his path.
"That should have been deemed a handball. And my first thought was that Graeme Shinnie won the ball when Craig Thomson blew for the free-kick."
Unless Aberdeen succeed with their appeal, Devlin will be banned for the September 15 trip to St Johnstone.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel