Dundee United and Celtic have it all to do again after a controversial 1-1 Scottish Cup quarter-final tie at Tannadice yesterday saw three red cards and two penalties, one missed.

Referee Craig Thomson sent off Hoops defender Virgil van Dijk and United midfielder Paul Paton after only nine minutes but it looked like it was a case of mistaken identity with regards to the home player, as it had been Calum Butcher who had tangled with the Dutchman.

United striker Nadir Ciftci, who might have been punished following his reaction to a bruising challenge by Hoops skipper Scott Brown which sparked the two dismissals, scored with a penalty in added time in the first half after Aidan Connolly appeared to go down without much help in the penalty area under pressure from Parkhead forward Anthony Stokes.

Three minutes after the break, United defender Paul Dixon was sent off for blocking a goal-bound drive by Leigh Griffiths, with Terrors keeper Radoslaw Cierzniak saving the subsequent penalty by the Hoops striker, who made amends in the 71st minute when he headed in a Stefan Johansen cross.

The game burst into life when Brown and Ciftci clashed in a tackle — the United forward appeared to leave his foot in — followed by Van Dijk and Butcher who became angrily entwined by their legs on the ground, both trying to escape.

Ciftci was only playing after winning his appeal against a two-match suspension following his clash with Inverness defender Gary Warren last month.

Paton was one of the first on the scene as a melee broke out but when it calmed down, referee Thomson, after speaking to assistant Graham Chambers, dismissed Paton and van Dijk, leaving the United player fuming and everyone in the ground in some confusion.

The two teams meet again in the Scottish League Cup final next Sunday.