Hibernian head coach David Gray has responded to a former team-mate's evisceration of Élie Youan, after the French forward participated in a spot of keepie-uppie in the immediate aftermath of Jordan Obita's early red card during the Easter Road side's 4-1 Scottish Premiership defeat by Dundee. 

Marvin Bartley, who was on punditry duties for broadcaster Premier Sports, slammed the former Nantes youngster's actions and chastised his colleagues for 'allowing him to do it'.

"It's embarrassing," Bartley said. "It sums it up at the moment that he's been allowed to get away with this. Not only is he doing it, he's got players looking at him and allowing him to do it.

"So either he does what he wants and he doesn't listen anyway or, the players don't care. I don't know which one of the two it is. But that is not acceptable. You've just had a player sent off. Get across to your manager, find out what you're going to do for the next ten or 15 minutes to see this game out until half-time or whatever else it might be. But doing that... that just sums up the players."

Quizzed about Bartley's comments during his pre-match press conference to preview Tuesday night's visit of Aberdeen, Gray insisted there was 'no malice' in what Youan was doing.

"I think anyone who knows Élie Youan knows he loves football. That's when he's happiest; when he's on the pitch," the Easter Road head coach explained. 

"I'd fully understand it if the game was about to go on, or I hadn't got the information on, or if I'd pulled all the players across and he wasn't over and was doing his own thing. Then I would understand exactly the magnitude of making the point about it. 

"But I didn't see it at the time. My information went on very quickly as to what we wanted to do at the red card, especially for the next five minutes, which was to see what Dundee would do because of how well we started in the game. The plan was passed on very quickly, he knew exactly where he was, and he went into position very quickly. 

"I think a lot's been made of it, but if you actually know him, I don't think there's any malice in what he was doing.  I understand why the question would be asked, and why Marvin singled it out and gave his feelings on it."