Hibernian on Tuesday confirmed they have decided not to appeal against Steven Fletcher's sending-off in their Scottish Cup defeat to Hearts.Scotland striker Fletcher was shown a straight red card in Sunday's fourth-round tie by referee Craig Thomson, who adjudged his 31st-minute tackle on Jambos captain Christophe Berra to be dangerous.

Hibs boss Mixu Paatelainen was incensed by the dismissal and accused Berra of exaggerating the challenge.

He said after the game: "Fletcher did not catch Berra at all. However, Berra jumps like a brown trout and makes things worse. I don't think it was even worth a yellow (card)."

Hibs have spent the last two days pondering whether to appeal. But Tuesday's decision comes as no surprise, after Thomson revealed he had watched a replay of the incident at half-time on Sunday and was happy with his original decision.

Under current Scottish Football Association rules, appeals are automatically rejected if a referee refuses to rescind his original decision - although the SFA recently announced they plan to review their disciplinary procedures.

That will come too late for Fletcher, who will sit out Saturday's Scottish Premier League match against St Mirren.

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