Darren McGregor says Alfredo Morelos avoided an Easter Road red card because the referee deemed his stamp on Ryan Porteous to be accidental.
The Rangers striker caught his opponent on the knee in a first half flashpoint, but referee Kevin Clancy took no action.
The Colombian international went on to score the winner against Hibs, rubbing salt into the wounds for Jack Ross ' side.
Speaking after the match McGregor revealed the explanation he was given for the decision, with Clancy deeming the contact to be accidental.
He told Sky Sports: "I was saying that to the referee.
"Ultimately he's not stood on Porteous with an attempt to really hurt him but he has stood on him.
"I seen it with my own eyes and he could have easily stepped over him so of that constitutes a red card then it's a red.
"The ref said he didn't think it was intentional and didn't mean to put his foot there.
"We all know the game and we all know where you can put your foot and to me it did look like he could have placed it on the ground but he placed it on Ryan's leg."
Hibs boss Ross offered a similar explanation as he pointed to criticism aimed at Porteous for a challenge on Rangers star Borna Barisic in a previous fixture.
He told BBC Radio Scotland: "It’s a red card. I mean it’s quite an easy one.
"It’s an easy one with the benefit of getting to see it again but it looks relatively straight forward in real time as well.
"So I don’t need to say to much about it other than it’s a red card and I’ll be fairly dignified about it and keep it at that because I’ve had a young player who has hauled over the coals by people in this fixture.
"So I’m not going to say any more other than it was a red card and it should have been seen by the official but it wasn’t.
"He said he thought it was a tangle of legs, which you know, I’m not going to chastise Kevin publicly for it because he only gets to see it one time and I’m sure match officials hold themselves to a high standard as well and are disappointed by it.
"Look, I just asked him and emotions were running high but he hasn’t seen it the way everyone else has seen it."
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