Jack Ross was left bemused by the "questionable" officiating during Hibs ' 3-0 win over FC Santa Coloma.
The Easter Road side will take a 3-0 lead to Andorra after Martin Boyle 's double and a late Kevin Nisbet strike gave them a deserved victory over the Andorrans.
But Joe Newell 's straight red card in the first half set the tone for the night, with Hamza Ryahi and Robert Ramos making an early exit in the second half.
Ross admitted Newell's dismissal spooked his men a bit, but some tactical tweaks at half-time got them back on track.
"It was eventful, he said. "The first 20 minutes it the goes to plan, scoring, the way the game was panning out then of course the officiating is questionable not just in that period but through the course of the game and it results in..
"I think when we went a man down we were spooked by and didn't respond particularly well in that period but when getting at half time unscathed was important.
"Changing the system at half time, was affirmation of the players still being good players and that change when you go down to 10 men and i think in the second half,
"I know the game changes again with the other sendings off, but before that we looked a better side again and the players deserved credit for that, for responding as we had that period when we lost that little bit of composure but regained it well."
Replays showed that Newell would have been unlucky to get a yellow, never mind the red that was flashed after his challenge and Ross felt it was typical of how the Icelandic referee handled the game as a whole.
He added: "I haven’t seen it but my staff have and they’re all in agreement it wasn’t a red card. I think there was even people doubting whether it was a yellow. I think it went hand in hand with how the game had started from an officiating point of view. There were a heck of a lot of cautions throughout the game.
"I’m not sure how the process work but if it is in line with domestic and feel it’s unjust we will [appeal]."
A wild challenge on Boyle after the break angered Ross, who was at a loss as to why that was a yellow compared to Newell's far less serious transgression.
He said: "The fourth official explained to me that that was reckless, I don’t know what Joe’s was described as. It was a learning experience for us as a group because it’s a first foray into Europe for a lot of players and it comes with different types of officiating, sometimes good, sometimes bad."
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