Paton handed two match ban after '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 compliance officer Tony McGlennan's original charge but a Scottish Football Association disciplinary tribunal has now found the Northern Ireland international guilty.

He was due to miss Sunday's Scottish Premiership clash with Celtic and the trip to St Johnstone on December 27 but United say they will now appeal the verdict.

A club spokesperson said: "The player will certainly be appealing this decision and will be given our full backing in this matter.

"The decision today relating to Paul Paton is incredulous. We are stunned firstly that it was brought in front of the Judicial Panel by the new Compliance Officer and secondly that the Judicial Panel have found the player guilty of something that we do not believe to have taken place.

"It is truly mystifying that three people in a room at Hampden Park in Glasgow on a Thursday afternoon can see something that was not seen by the referee, first assistant, second assistant, fourth official, SPFL delegate, the managers of either team, the players of either team including the alleged villain and victim, not to mention the 11,168 supporters in the stadium.

"As part of our original defence submission we studied enlarged video footage to ensure our player was not guilty of such an offence. We were sound in our belief that no such action had taken place and we will continue to support the player in this matter through the Appeal process."

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 yellow card on Saturday was his sixth in the league this season, sparking a further one-match ban which could yet see him sit out the St Johnstone clash.

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.