Scottish Cup: Paul Paton and Virgil van Dijk red cards challenged

Virgil van Dijk and Paul Paton were caught up in a heated melee

Dundee United midfielder Paul Paton and Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk's red cards during Sunday's Scottish Cup tie are being challenged by their clubs.

But United will not appeal against Paul Dixon's sending off during the 1-1 quarter-final draw at Tannadice.

It means that the defender will miss the replay between the teams on Wednesday, 18 March.

Van Dijk was sent off for his reaction in the same melee as Paton following a Scott Brown tackle on Nadir Ciftci.

A judicial panel is likely to consider the cases of Paton and Van Dijk on Thursday, three days before the Scottish League Cup final between the sides at Hampden Park.

United manager Jackie McNamara suggested after Sunday's game that Paton's red card was a case of mistaken identity.

Team-mate Calum Butcher was initially led away by assistant referee Graham Chambers.

McNamara also claimed that Celtic captain Brown should have been disciplined for the challenge on Ciftci that led to the heated exchange.

Striker Ciftci, who is already missing Sunday's final through suspension, and midfielder Butcher appeared to kick out during the incident.

Meanwhile, Celtic manager Ronny Deila and Brown have accused forward Aidan Connolly of taking a dive to earn the penalty from which Ciftci put United 1-0 ahead.

Brown, defending his own initial challenge, also suggested that Ciftci had deliberately kicked him in retaliation.

It will not be known until Tuesday whether the SFA's compliance officer will take action against any players for incidents not dealt with by referee Craig Thomson.