Motherwell boss Mark McGhee handed two-match touchline ban over tunnel bust-up

Motherwell manager Mark McGhee has been handed an immediate two-match touchline ban following a post-match dispute at Dens Park.

McGhee has been given a further one-match suspended ban by the Scottish Football Association after admitting using "offensive, abusing, and/or insulting language" towards referee John Beaton and a steward.

Two further charges of "adopting an aggressive attitude" were dropped, according to the club.

McGhee had previously blamed an "over-zealous bouncer" for the dispute, which came in the tunnel after Motherwell's 2-0 Ladbrokes Premiership defeat defeat by Dundee on November 5.

The Scotland assistant manager had been trying to approach Beaton over his failure to award Motherwell an opening goal after Dundee goalkeeper David Mitchell appeared to carry the ball over his line when catching Scott McDonald's cross.

Speaking last month, McGhee said: "When I went in the tunnel, I was going to have a word with the referee about what I thought was a diabolical decision, and it was a diabolical decision by the same referee for the second time in two years in the same fixture.

"I started to say it in a very calm, ironic way when this bouncer stepped in and almost knocked me off my feet. It was that altercation that disintegrated between the door into the tunnel up to the referee's room. I was having a running battle with this bouncer.

"It was only then when the referee was able to disappear into his dressing room without me being able to speak to him that I shouted something. What it says in the report is absolutely what I shouted.

"But it was absolutely caused by the intervention of Dundee's bouncer. I am going to go up and defend it because it was literally caused by the guy's unnecessary and overzealous intervention."

McGhee will be in the stand for Motherwell's home game against Kilmarnock on Saturday and their trip to face his former club, Aberdeen, on Tuesday.

But assistant James McFadden is confident he will cope well in McGhee's absence.

"It won't really change," McFadden said. "The manager, contrary to belief, is quite reserved on the touchline and I'm the one that does all the shouting. The team will be set up the same way."