Paul Lambert refused to condemn Christian Benteke after the striker was sent off as Aston Villa slipped to a sixth straight defeat against Tottenham.
Substitute Harry Kane netted a last-minute winner following Nacer Chadli's equaliser with just six minutes left to earn Spurs a 2-1 victory at Villa Park.
The hosts had been leading through Andreas Weimann's early strike -- Villa's first goal in 547 minutes -- when they were reduced to 10 men in the second half after Benteke was dismissed following a clash with Ryan Mason.
The Belgium international was sent off after he pushed Mason in the face following the midfielder's second-half challenge and Lambert felt it changed the game.
He told a news conference: "I can't condone what Christian did, lifting his hand, but he was provoked. If you go back a frame you see the lad [Mason] putting his head in Christian's face. If you do that you understated why Christian did it. You don't get away with it, but my daughter can throw a harder forearm than that.
"I understand the emotion and adrenaline rush, if someone puts their head in your face your natural reaction is to push them away. In sport you won't get away with it. Football is a game of emotion and that can happen. They couldn't cope with him the way he was playing. It's a setback for him and for us, he's going to be missing the next few games.''
Benteke will now miss Villa's next three matches with Lambert's side 15th in the table.