Fiorentina striker Stevan Jovetic has jumped to the defence of Alberto Gilardino after his dismissal in last night's 1-0 defeat to Champions League opponents Lyon.
"I saw the incident from the bench and it was not a sending off offence. I know Gilardino doesn't do these things," noted Jovetic.
"We are all disappointed. It was a good first half, but when you lose it's tough. At least playing every three days means we can immediately start focusing on the next match.
"We could not have done better in the circumstances, but we still have five Champions League games ahead of us and have proved we can fight it out with anyone. Fiorentina are not inferior to Lyon and showed that tonight."
Undoubtedly being forced to play the entire second half with 10 men affected the Viola and they were furious at the dismissal.
"Gilardino didn't do anything and even a yellow card would've been harsh," slammed defender Gianluca Comotto.
"The sending off was down to their play-acting. With full teams on the field we would've probably beaten them."