Mark McGhee fears that Scottish football could be changed forever if referees continue their zero tolerance approach to discipline, reports the Scottish Sun. The Aberdeen manager has seen his side pick up five of the 29 red cards officials have handed out in the SPL this season.
But he insists only Jerel Ifil's dismissal in the weekend defeat at Celtic Park was totally justified.
And he said: "I take great pride from the fact that Motherwell won the Fair Play award when I was manager because it was part of my philosophy.
"It was no coincidence because the players were warned not to get involved with referees.
"But the game is being refereed in such a way now that it would appear practically every foul is a yellow card, so we must reconsider how we play the game.
"If refs continue to referee games with such determination and no tolerance we could end up with a totally different style of play in Scotland.
"I certainly have a concern if I am forced to say to my players they can't take any risks, almost saying that they can't tackle.
"There will be times they don't get it right when they trip an opponent or arrive late. If every time that happens, they are going to get a red card, more will be sent off.
"I think the first four of our red cards were unnecessary as the players didn't deserve cautions.
"But we had three or four lazy tackles against Celtic when the game was going away from us.
"We can't allow our standards to slip and I will be coming down heavily on anyone who does."