Referee Brian Winter had to be talked out of quitting after failing to send off St Johnstone's Steven Anderson despite a second booking. Hugh Dallas, the Scottish Football Association's head of referee development, has reassured Winter over his top-flight future following his blunder during Dundee United's 1-0 SPL win over Saints on Saturday.

Winter consulted his fourth official, Eddie Smith, and an assistant but still did not dismiss Anderson.

"I spoke with Brian after the game and he admitted that the mass confrontation after Anderson's initial caution had caused confusion," Dallas said in a statement.

"He was very down, as you could imagine, and he cares so much about refereeing that he had to be talked out of walking away from it altogether.

"I am sure this is a blip for Brian and I have tried to reassure him of that.

"What happened was a mistake and an uncommon one at that, but Brian is a very experienced SPL referee and one who has built up the respect of players and managers throughout the league."