The prospect of Gordon Strachan being banned from the dug-out for 10 matches has been branded "ludicrous" by Kenny Miller, who was keen to defend the Celtic manager in the wake of dramatic scenes at Aberdeen on Sunday.
Strachan was ordered to the stands following an altercation with a Pittodrie official, following claims his number two Garry Pendry made a two-fingered gesture to Dons fans.
The Celtic camp later claimed the assistant manager was merely reflecting the scoreline.
Strachan is already waiting for the case of his dismissal against Hearts in April to be heard, which would earn him a four-game ban if found guilty of his second disrepute charge in three seasons.
A third offence would result in a further six-match ban.
Miller, who netted twice in Sunday's 3-1 win, said: "A 10-game ban for Gordon Strachan would be absolutely ludicrous.
"I just think that when you are taking stick for so long it's only natural you are going to react even just a little bit. To suggest that they were making the wrong kind of gestures, even swearing back at the crowd, wasn't right.
"I think it was just Pendo signalling the score to the fans rather than making any other gestures. Even the gaffer was just standing up for his team and standing up for his staff, then he got sent to the stand.
"For me that was a bit harsh - so talk of any kind of a ban is outrageous- 10 games for anything is harsh.
"It would be a killer to be without the gaffer in the dug-out. It's important for him to be able to relay messages to the pitch and as you can see he is animated. He does like to get his point across to the players."
Miller returns to the scene when Scotland face South Africa in a friendly international at Pittodrie on Wednesday night.
Miller's appearances for Celtic were limited last season but national team boss Alex McLeish has displayed unwavering faith in his striker, stating recently he had no intentions of axing the hard-working forward.
"It's great when you hear the boss talking like that," said Miller. "I've spoken to him a few times about it.
"Personally, it's not ideal preparation for an international not to be playing regularly for your club because when you report it's harder. As much as you try to give everything you've got, you are maybe not physically right to do what you could be doing if you are playing week in week out at club level.
"I look back to my last year with Wolves. I was playing every week and I felt great. My international form really picked up as well. I felt great and I felt confident. My performances were really good for the national team.
"But I don't think I've ever really let anyone down for Scotland."
The Celtic camp later claimed the assistant manager was merely reflecting the scoreline.
Strachan is already waiting for the case of his dismissal against Hearts in April to be heard, which would earn him a four-game ban if found guilty of his second disrepute charge in three seasons.
A third offence would result in a further six-match ban.
Miller, who netted twice in Sunday's 3-1 win, said: "A 10-game ban for Gordon Strachan would be absolutely ludicrous.
"I just think that when you are taking stick for so long it's only natural you are going to react even just a little bit. To suggest that they were making the wrong kind of gestures, even swearing back at the crowd, wasn't right.
"I think it was just Pendo signalling the score to the fans rather than making any other gestures. Even the gaffer was just standing up for his team and standing up for his staff, then he got sent to the stand.
"For me that was a bit harsh - so talk of any kind of a ban is outrageous- 10 games for anything is harsh.
"It would be a killer to be without the gaffer in the dug-out. It's important for him to be able to relay messages to the pitch and as you can see he is animated. He does like to get his point across to the players."
Miller returns to the scene when Scotland face South Africa in a friendly international at Pittodrie on Wednesday night.
Miller's appearances for Celtic were limited last season but national team boss Alex McLeish has displayed unwavering faith in his striker, stating recently he had no intentions of axing the hard-working forward.
"It's great when you hear the boss talking like that," said Miller. "I've spoken to him a few times about it.
"Personally, it's not ideal preparation for an international not to be playing regularly for your club because when you report it's harder. As much as you try to give everything you've got, you are maybe not physically right to do what you could be doing if you are playing week in week out at club level.
"I look back to my last year with Wolves. I was playing every week and I felt great. My international form really picked up as well. I felt great and I felt confident. My performances were really good for the national team.
"But I don't think I've ever really let anyone down for Scotland."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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