Livingston boss David Martindale believes match officials must show common sense after being left bemused at Colin Steven's decision to send his striker off.
Tete Yengi pick up a bizarre second yellow card in Saturday’s 4-2 defeat against Heart of Midlothian.
The Lions talisman was shown red just moments after being substituted in the second half because he kicked a water bottle in frustration towards the away dugout.
Yengi, 23, will now miss Livingston's first post-split fixture and his absence will be felt, with Martindale only able to name four substitutes on his bench at Tynecastle due to personnel issues.
The incident that resulted in Yengi, who's scored five times in 14 appearances for the league's bottom club since joining in January, being suspended, has to be viewed in isolation according to Martindale as he pleaded for some leeway.
Martindale, whose side were two goals ahead at Tynecastle before conceding four before the break, said: “The kid comes off park frustrated, he’s kicked one of our bottles.
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“He’s kicked it into our dugout, I just think there has to be a bit of common sense applied. There is no explanation, you are not allowed to do it.
“You are bottom of the league, fighting for survival, you are 2-0 up and losing 4-2, he gets substituted and I think common sense has to be applied.
“It’s not the way I want the game to go. I’m not saying what he’s done is right but I think you need to give him some leeway. We’re down to the bare bones as it is so he’s let us down as well.
“If that bottle had gone into the fans, book him all day long, if it had gone into the Hearts technical area, book him.”
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