Motherwell goalkeeper Trevor Carson took a pop at 'Scrooge' ref Bobby Madden for booking him on his big comeback in a Boxing Day draw with Dundee United.
And the Northern Ireland international was also left frustrated by the Steelmen's continuing profligacy in front of goal, which allowed the Terrors to dampen his return further with a last-gasp equaliser in a 1-1 tie.
Carson - who has been out since October - was booked for holding on to the ball for too long in the first-half by Madden and the hosts were awarded an indirect free-kick.
Thankfully for the Fir Park keeper it didn't lead to a goal, but Tony Watt's early opener for 'Well was cancelled out by a stoppage-time equaliser by Nicky Clark.
While Carson was delighted to be back between the sticks ahead of schedule, he felt East Kilbride whistler Madden was lacking some Christmas spirit.
He said: "It was great to be back out there. But the free kick... I said to Bobby: ‘Did you not get the Christmas present you asked for yesterday?’
“Not for one second in my head was I trying to time waste.
“I said to him: ‘Bobby, there’s 20 minutes gone’ I couldn’t get my head round it.
“I was just happy they didn’t score from it because it would have been my fault.
"So yeah, maybe Bobby had a bad Christmas!
“I didn’t even get the warning, he just said: ’35 seconds you had the ball in your hands for’.
“One of the boys counted it at half-time and, to be fair, it was 18 seconds - which is breaking the rules.
“But, if Bobby is going to pull a keeper up every time they hold the ball for 18 seconds, there are going to be a lot of indirect free-kicks.
“I will have to be careful in future. Because it could cost us.”
The Motherwell camp ruing their failure to take their chances has become a familiar post-match line this season and once again they were left wondering what might have been.
Carson added: "We had enough chances to win two or three games and it’s Sod’s Law that it comes back to bite you in the arse.
“Personally, I was delighted to be back playing, a clean sheet would have been perfect.
“I am back a bit quicker than expected.
"It’s eight weeks since the operation and they said it could be up to three months."
As if dropping two points late on wasn't bad enough, 'Well's Christmas cheer took a dent ahead of kick-off.
The SFA announced the six points they were awarded against St Mirren and Kilmarnock for the clubs having breached Covid protocols have been rescinded, awaiting an appeal from the two clubs.
It saw 'Well slip right down the table to ninth and Carson added: "When you drop from fifth or sixth right down the table, of course it affects you. It’s natural.
"But we have to just go and earn those points.
"The timing wasn’t ideal but the manager had a meeting and flipped it into a positive.
“It’s up to us. If we don’t get handed those points, it’s not the end of the world. We just go and earn them.
“If it means going and playing the games and winning the games, so be it.”
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