Hibernian manager Pat Fenlon was furious with Ryan Stevenson's tackle in the SPL goalless draw at Hearts on Thursday.
It was an Edinburgh derby that rarely ignited at Tynecastle with the visitors missing out on the chance to go level on points with third and fourth-placed Inverness and Motherwell.
But it was a reckless challenge by Hearts midfielder Stevenson on skipper James McPake that had Fenlon saying: "It's a shocking tackle. He had a look first before he left the ground.
"We're disappointed with that. He has a bad gash, James. There could have been a bit of damage there, but he's not too bad. But you can't be critical of the referee. I thought the referee reffed the game very well."
Hearts boss John McGlynn added: "I haven't seen it again. I think the referee was in a good position. It's a derby game, it's competitive. In derby games four or five years ago that wouldn't have been an issue."
The result was a bit of a comedown for the visitors following their phenomenal 1-0 triumph over leaders Celtic at the weekend.
"It was hard fought," Fenlon told Sky Sports. "We had to defend really well. It was a battling performance rather than a classic.
"The Saturday game seemed to take its toll on some of our lads where they put in quite a shift.
"But coming here was difficult. It's credit was haven't conceded a goal after being put under some pressure."
And with the winter break set to kick in, Fenlon added: "I'm delighted with the first half of the season.
"There's no comparison to last season. We've got some real battling qualities."
