Matt Doherty criticised referee Harald Lechner after he was sent off late in the Republic of Ireland's disappointing 2-1 loss to Greece on Friday night.
The Atletico Madrid defender was shown red in the dying seconds of the Euro 2024 qualifier in Athens after a coming together with Liverpool's Kostas Tsimikas.
Doherty said the referee "obviously lacked a bit of something" as he took aim at the official after the match.
READ MORE: Greece v Ireland player ratings from the Euro 2024 qualifier
He told Off The Ball: "I think the referee gave them a soft free-kick. Then I looked up and the guy was walking Mikey (Johnston) down from behind I think it was, I don't really know. I just walked into him and he went to the ground.
"The referee obviously lacked a bit of something because there's two seconds left in the game, it wasn't really a red card I don't think, it's probably a yellow so I don't think it was necessary to send me off."
When asked if he said anything to the referee at full-time, Doherty added: "I just wanted to talk, but referees these days they don't even let you speak to them. They're so arrogant and sure about themselves that you're not even allowed to approach them and have a normal conversation. It's always about them."
He continued: "I guess people always think when you go up to a referee after a game that you're going to abuse him, but I wasn't going to do that. I just wanted to talk to him normally."
However, Richie Sadlier claimed what Doherty did was "silly", adding that the full-back showed "a complete loss of concentration".
He said on RTE: "It was a disappointing end. Matt had a difficult night. We've been discussing the fitness and the sharpness of players. Matt hasn't had a lot of football since Christmas and this is just silly stuff.
"No reason to even walk over, let alone do that when you do arrive, let alone do it right in front of the referee.
"The referee is standing right in front of him so just a complete loss of concentration."
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