Basel defender Behrang Safari has told Sportbladet he did not seek to get Lazar Markovic sent off during his side's 1-1 draw at Liverpool.
Basel progressed to the knockout phase of the Champions League after avoiding defeat at Anfield, but the Reds hopes of progress were hindered in the 61st minute when -- still trailing Fabian Frei's first-half goal -- they were reduced to 10 men after Markovic threw out his hand in the direction of Safari.
Replays were inconclusive as to the extent of the contact but Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers described Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers' decision to dismiss Markovic as "disappointing."
He added: "The fingernail hardly touches the nose of the defender. The defender is the one who should be looked at. He should be looked at and sent off for that reaction. I thought a lot of decisions tonight were disappointing. It's not the Premier League and we understand that, but the decision was certainly very disappointing."
However, Sweden international Safari insisted there was contact and denied attempting to influence the decision.
"I wouldn't have gone to ground if he hadn't hit me. I am not the kind of player who dives," he said in quotes translated by The Guardian.
"It was a bit strange. I didn't realise that it was a red card at first. I thought the referee had blown his whistle because it was a head injury and I thought I was going to give the ball to the Liverpool players afterwards. But then I noticed that the Liverpool players were angry with me."
On whether there had been contact, he added: "Yes, yes, of course. I was bleeding from my mouth."
Luigi Ponte, the president of the Swiss Refereeing Federation (SVV), said in Basler Zeitung that he fully agreed with Kuipers' red card.
"It might have only been minimal contact, but to me it clearly was violent conduct," Ponte said.
He also backed the official's decision not to award a penalty when Basel goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik challenged Steven Gerrard in the area, calling the Dutchman's performance "sensational" and saying he would use footage of the match for future refereeing courses.
"He's one of the best referees in the world for me," he added.