Mixu hits out at Hibs pair April 26 2008
Hibernian manager Mixu Paatelainen slammed the indiscipline of Thierry Gathuessi and Colin Nish after the duo were both shown red cards in the 2-1 defeat to Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
With Hibs trailing to goals from Darren Mackie and Lee Miller, Gathuessi was cautioned twice in quick succession.
The first was for a foul on Miller and when the defender decided to argue the decision with referee Stuart Dougal, he was dismissed.
With Hibs down to 10 men Nish was brought on as a substitute, only to be sent from the field of play with nine minutes remaining for foul and abusive language.
Paatelainen was outraged at the actions of Gathuessi and Nish, saying: "If players talk to the referee then they are asking for trouble, it's as simple as that.
"Both players should know better and every player should know that if you start arguing with the referee then you will lose every time.
"I am surprised the referee went into the dialogue with the players and argued with them on the pitch.
"But Thierry Gathuessi was booked and he carried on talking, so there was only one solution after that."
On Nish's sending-off, Paatelainen added: "If you talk to the referee and call him names there are no excuses, our players should know better than that and it is disappointing."
Both Gathuessi and Nish are now facing being disciplined by their manager, who said: "We will deal with matters internally as always and we must make sure the players know better the next time."
Hibs had taken a 55th-minute lead when Dean Shiels capitalised on slack play from Zander Diamond to manoeuvre into the Aberdeen penalty area and slot a cool finish past Jamie Langfield.
But the game changed when Mackie replaced Chris Maguire and scored within a minute of his introduction from an extremely acute angle.
Gathuessi then conceded a spot-kick when adjudged to have fouled Miller, but Paatelainen was incensed at the award of the penalty, saying: "Maybe it is a penalty in volleyball, but not in football."
With Motherwell and Dundee United drawing earlier in the day, Hibs knew victory would have taken them third in the SPL standings.
But despite this setback, Paatelainen is confident his side can still win the race to finish behind the Old Firm.
He said: "We still have a chance as we are two points behind Motherwell, which is nothing."
Aberdeen assistant manager Jimmy Nicholl paid tribute to substitute Mackie, whose goal gave Aberdeen a platform to go and secure all three points.
With boss Jimmy Calderwood away on a European scouting mission, Nicholl was in charge of the Dons for the day.
It was his decision to bring on Mackie just after the hour mark and the former Manchester United player was delighted at the immediate impact made by the replacement.
He said: "It was typical Darren Mackie to come off the bench with a determination to do something about the situation.
"Any goals he gets are always important for us and he did it again today."
Aberdeen's other goal came from Miller, who is out of contract in the summer and could leave the club for nothing.
Nicholl is desperate to retain the services of the striker, but admits he is unsure what Miller will do.
He said: "How talks are going with Jimmy [Calderwood], I have no idea.
"Whether he is keeping his options open or whether the club has made him an offer he doesn't accept, I don't know."