Max Johnston has joked he will dump Mika Biereth's Denmark top in the bin after his former teammate tried to get him sent off.
Moments after coming on for Aaron Hickey at right-back, Johnston had a close have during Scotland's 0-0 draw with the Danes. After a free-kick and yellow card were awarded against him for a handball, referee Daniel Siebert was sent over to the VAR monitor to check for a potential red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Fortunately, the German decided against upgrading his decision and stuck with the yellow.
The Scotland star felt he was given a shove into the ball by his former Sturm Graz teammate Mika Biereth and there was also some dubiety around whether it was even a handball due to how high up the ball hit him.
Recalling the incident, he said: "When it went to VAR my legs turned to jelly. I didn’t think it was a red card myself but I’m just so happy VAR saw it that way too.
"When I jumped for the ball he pushed me while I was in the air. The ball hit me on my sleeve, around my shoulder.
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"I had just come on, so it was difficult but you have to put it behind you and I thought I managed to do that. But at the time I just thought, ‘You’ve got to be joking!’.
Biereth had been trying to persuade the official that it was a red card offence to get his pal sent off.
Johnston joked that their friendship was over and he would even be binning Biereth's shirt after they did a swap post-match.
"I played alongside him at Sturm Graz too," he added. "I’m actually quite pally with him, but not any more. If he texts me after this I will not be replying to him. We swapped shirts after the game but I’m going to put it in the bin after that.
"He knew what he was doing, but, well, it’s part of the game. There are no friends on the pitch but it’s all gone now. It’s difficult but it is part and parcel of being a footballer.
"You need to deal with challenges and I managed to put it behind me and just get on with my job."
