Cedric Kipre pleads innocence ahead of disciplinary hearing
The defender was sent off following a clash with Scott Brown on Sunday
Motherwell defender Cedric Kipre claims there was no malice in the incident that saw him got sent off against Celtic on Sunday - saying he was just trying to get back to his feet.
The defender will face a Scottish Football Association judicial panel on Thursday morning following Motherwell's wrongful dismissal claim after Kipre was shown a red card during the goalless draw at Fir Park.
The 21-year old was on the ground after a challenge with Brown before raising his boot when the midfielder pushed him back down. Referee Craig Thomson appeared to motion that the he had stamped on the Celtic captain.
Kipre said in an interview on Motherwell's official Twitter account: "I wanted to stand up and then he pushed me away, so my first reaction was to brush him away with my foot.
"I don't think I did a bad thing, I just wanted to stand up and keep playing.''
Thomson also sent Kipre off during the Betfred Cup final meeting between the teams but this time the 10 men secured a positive result in his absence.
"When I got the red card I thought: 'I have let everyone down, maybe they are going to lose now because 10 v 11 is harder','' said the former Leicester player, who will not be present at the hearing.
"But they worked really hard and really well so I can only be proud of them, all of them. I am very happy.
"I won't react next time. I think I miss two games and two very important games so hopefully we win (the appeal) and I can be back for the games and help the team.'