Hibernian head coach David Gray criticised Jamie McGrath's lack of professionalism after his rash tackle on Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston led to a fourth sending off in three games for the Easter Road club.
In the 20th minute of Hibs' 2-1 defeat to Celtic this afternoon, McGrath lunged in on Johnston.
Referee David Dickinson initially issued a yellow card, but after VAR official Don Robertson got involved, it was upgraded to a red card.
"I can't defend Jamie's one because everybody knows, especially in the modern day, if you leave the ground at all and you lunge, you're putting yourself at risk," Gray said.
"Now, that's completely out of character for Jamie McGrath. I'm not just directing that at him.
"But as a group now, as a result of that we're making subs, as a result of that you're going down to 10 men.
"And we can't just accept the fact that that's alright. It's not. I've spoken about it already. But nobody does it on purpose. Clearly.
"But it goes back to what I said at the very start. In that moment, it's a lack of discipline, a lack of professionalism because of you taking that chance. And the minute you leave the ground, you take that risk."
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Grant Hanley was sent off against Aberdeen three weeks ago. Raphael Sallinger and Felix Passlack saw red in the Edinburgh Derby a fortnight later. Akin to today, Hibs lost both games.
Gray's men have not won since April 4 and sit fifth in the William Hill Premiership table.
After Falkirk defeated Motherwell 1-0 on Saturday, Hibs' lead over the club sitting sixth is now just two points.
Fourth place guarantees Europe, but Hibs are now six points behind Motherwell, who occupy that berth.
"We're now back in a situation where we're relying on Motherwell," Gray added. "For us to catch them, they need to drop points, and we'll probably need three wins.
"Now, more importantly than that, we've got Falkirk breathing down our neck, trying to catch us, the same as we're trying to catch Motherwell."
Hibs play Falkirk away from home this Saturday. Their previous trip to face John McGlynn's side ended in a hapless 4-1 defeat.
"We need to make sure we go into that game and try and get three points there, because last time we went there, it wasn't a great performance from our point of view," Gray said.
"We certainly want to atone for that. But it'll be a really difficult game because, like I've already said, everyone's got something to play for. We're back in a situation now where we need to make sure we've got no more slip-ups available."
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