Hamilton striker Flavio Paixao launched an astonishing attack on Danny Grainger, accusing the St Johnstone defender of repeatedly punching him in a dugout melee during the Saints' 2-1 win at New Douglas Park.
As a tetchy game unfolded in the second half, after Simon Mensing had scored from the spot to cancel out Sam Parkin's opener for the visitors, Grainger sent the Portuguese player crashing into the home dugout with a challenge and followed him in. Despite some furore, referee Mike Tumilty took no action. To add to Paixao's physical pain, Grainger scored the winner from a free-kick with four minutes remaining for the Perth side's first away win of the season.
Afterwards, the Accies player said: "I don't know if the television or the referee have seen anything but it was clear that he punched me. Sometimes a decision can change the game. Maybe if he was sent off the game would have changed. Of course I expected him to be sent off - he punched me and punched me and punched me in the face."
He added: "When I changed to the right-hand side he was saying bad things against me. It was mind games. He wanted to fight and I want to play football. When a player wants to fight I just go to the other side. Football is played on the floor and it is beautiful when it is. But when you want to break legs and faces then I think the guy must leave football."
Grainger, who won a bottle of champagne as man of the match from BBC Alba, played the incident down but hinted at a run-in with Paixao.
He said: "There is always a bit of nonsense going on when we come down here but that just adds to the spice of the game. More importantly, we got the three points and I was just happy that my free-kick went in."
Hamilton boss Billy Reid played down the Grainger incident, saying: "I didn't see too much in it."
Of the performance, he added: "We didn't play well but we answered a few questions in the second half."
St Johnstone boss Derek McInnes admitted that only the victory prevented him asking Michael Duberry for an explanation for his handling Dougie Imrie's corner which gave the home side a lifeline.
He said: "No, he didn't give me an explanation - but he would have done if we hadn't won the game. I have still to speak to him about it but he looked sheepishly at me when he was in the shower."
Source: PA
