Paton banned over 'spitting' row

Paton fouled Hayes during the Dons' 2-0 win at Tannadice on Saturday and the Irishman reacted angrily seconds later after Paton motioned his head slightly towards his grounded opponent.

Television replays of the incident seemed inconclusive while Hayes took to Twitter to insist his rival had done nothing wrong.

Paton contested the original charge but a Scottish Football Association disciplinary tribunal has now found the Northern Ireland international guilty.

He will now miss Sunday's Scottish Premiership clash with Celtic and the trip to St Johnstone on December 27.

Hayes' backing of Paton was posted on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon just an hour before the SFA issued their notice of complaint.

The former Inverness player wrote: ''Just wanna clear it up that Paul Paton never spat at me, what happens and is said on the pitch is brushed aside at the end of 90mins!''

After the charge was announced, Hayes added: ''And What happened on Saturday will stay between myself and Paul, we've spoke on this non issue, and if asked I'll confirm what happened.

''To the Scottish FA, I'd never want to see a fellow pro being accused or found guilty of something that never happened!''

Paton's ban will at least see him now avoid a difficult situation with the Ronny Deila's visitors this weekend.

The 27-year-old was arrested over an alleged assault on Celtic goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska in October. The case has been under consideration by the procurator fiscal.

Paton's yellow card on Saturday was his sixth in the league this season, sparking a further one-match ban that will rule him out of the Dundee derby at Tannadice on New Year's Day.

Meanwhile, Queen of the South defender Andy Dowie has also been given a two-match ban for stamping on Rangers midfielder Ian Black.

Dowie was found guilty of ''committing violent conduct at a match by deliberately standing on an opposing player's leg'' following an incident in his team's 2-0 Championship win over Rangers on Friday night.