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Shock moment BBC had to censor David Martindale after Livingston manager’s crude gesture

THE BBC were forced to blur David Martindale's hand after the Livingston boss was seen making a rude gesture towards an opposition player in his team's match against Hibs.

Livi lost 4-1 to the Edinburgh side and had Jack Fitzwater sent off on 52 minutes.

David Martindale during Livingston vs Hibs
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David Martindale during Livingston vs HibsCredit: David Henderson

Lions boss Martindale would join him up the tunnel earlier than planned however, after he was sent off by the referee just before full-time.

The incident happened just as the officials were deliberating over whether to award Hibs a fourth goal, with Kevin Nisbet potentially offside in the build-up to Mykola Kukharevych.

But Martindale insisted it was all a JOKE, not intended to cause offence.

Indeed, Martindale said Hibs keeper David Marshall took it as such and the pair were laughing about it.

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Marshall asked how long was left of the game, only for Martindale to show him the number of minutes in a unique way.

As BBC Sportscene showed the incident on TV, they were forced to show the boss with his hand clearly blurred.

David Martindale's rude gesture caught on camera
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David Martindale's rude gesture caught on camera

Martindale had pulled the middle finger at the Hibs goalie.

He explained: "I’m not going to tell any lies. Marshall asked how long was to go and I shouted back ‘There’s a minute left’ with my middle finger. 

"He laughed, I laughed and I got sent off for making an offensive gesture. 

"Marshall grabbed me in the tunnel and asked if I got sent off for that. I said yes, and he said that if I needed him to say anything to please let him know. 

"If I was to say 'F*** you' then I think that’s a sending off. 

"Maybe I let the boys down a wee bit but I never did it in that context, it wasn’t in anger. 

"Marshall and I were both laughing. 

“The referee said he didn’t want to send me off and I said ‘But you did’.

"Surely in that context it is not offensive and that must carry a bit of weight. 

"I would argue it wasn’t done in an offensive way. It was a bit of banter with Marshall. 

“He laughed, I laughed and that was it.

"Anything that could go wrong did go wrong. My feelings are frustration, anger and disappointment."

The result means Livi have lost four matches on the bounce and Martindale knows his players need a boost to steady the ship on their course for a top six spot.

He said: "At a club of this size you lose games of football but our performance level since the Inverness defeat (in the Scottish Cup) hasn’t been there.

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"The boys have lost a wee bit of confidence and belief in themselves and we need to try and get that back. 

"We have hit a wee bit of a wobble but the way we defended really wasn’t good enough and that’s all over the park, from the No9 through to the centre-halves."

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