CRAIG Thomson's decision to send off Steven Fletcher after 30 minutes of Sunday's Edinburgh derby has been backed by his superiors, despite Mixu Paatelainen continuing his rant by calling the red card "a bloody joke".

George Smith, the referee supervisor at Easter Road, is expected to commend the referee in his report for swift and decisive action in dismissing the Hibernian striker for his late challenge on the Hearts captain, Christophe Berra. It was a turning point in Hearts' 2-0 win the the Homecoming Scottish Cup fourth-round tie, with Christian Nade opening the scoring moments later and Gary Glen securing the win in added-on time.

Hibernian have yet to decide whether to appeal the decision, which means Fletcher is automatically suspended for the weekend's Clydesdale Bank Premier League match against , but it seems any pursuit of perceived justice would appear futile.

The Herald understands Thomson stands by his decision after watching several television replays, while the supervisor will also confirm the correct decision was made when his report arrives at Hampden Park this week.

It is believed the incident ticked all the boxes of serious foul play: speed, opportunity to play the ball, intent and endangering safety of an opponent.

Paatelainen insists his player did not make contact with the Hearts defender and even claimed Berra "jumped like a brown trout" to make the incident look worse. Last night, he revealed the player was only adhering to defensive instruction.

"I am asking my players to work hard both defensively and offensively," he said. "I ask them to do their best to win the ball back when we don't have it and Steven did exactly that.

"He showed fantastic spirit and work ethic. There was nothing malicious in it at all, he did not go over the ball, he didn't go for the leg or ankle. He went for the ball and his foot was planted before Berra jumped which made it look very, very bad and the referee was caught by it. Fletcher did not foul him, as far as I am concerned, it was a bloody joke."

Confirmation is also expected this morning that striker Derek Riordan will escape further punishment from the SFA after having been booked for gesturing towards the Hearts support with a clenched fist as he was substituted after 65 minutes.

It appears the fact that the referee dealt with Riordan's indiscretion at the time means the 25-year-old will not be disciplined further.

Thomson's match report is not expected to recommend any further action being taken against the former Scotland internationalist.

An SFA spokesperson said: "We don't have the referee's report in yet but we expect it to confirm that the matter should not be taken any further. The referee saw what happened and cautioned the player for it. In a scenario like that we would not get involved."