Steve Rushton’s refusal to penalise Jose Veiga for his challenge on Swindon’s Matt Ritchie has caused Robins boss Paolo Di Canio to demand a change in his players’ ‘too honest’ attitude.

Di Canio was incensed by the official’s decision, 12 minutes from time and with Macc 1-0 ahead, not to award the spot-kick and brandish the red card for Veiga.

And Di Canio said Ritchie’s actions, desperately trying to stay on is feet and roll in the equaliser instead of going to ground under the keeper’s clip, will be a thing of the past at Swindon.

"Of course it was a penalty," raged the Italian after Ross Draper’s goal had settled the win for the Silkmen. "Even if he stays on his feet if he has been clipped it was a red card and a penalty and it changed the game.

"So from now on I will tell my players to dive anywhere on the pitch and not to be fair and not to be sporting, but to simulate, even if they risk getting a yellow card for doing so.

He (Ritchie) lost his balance and you can’t stay on your feet just because you want to be honest. It is not anymore acceptable and from now I will tell my players to dive in the box.

"I will bring a different culture, because that should have been a red card.

"I know this is not fair but if this is the only way to receive something that should come from the rules I will do this.

"I don’t want to be the manager who always moans at the referee but nor do I want to be the manager who keeps his mouth shut. This decision completely changed the game. It was a game we should have won."

Despite insisting that his side should have taken the points, Di Canio questioned his players’ lack of pedigree and bite away from home, with just one victory to their name.

"For some players if he has a Chihuahua character then I can’t make a Chihuahua into a Rottweiler," he ventured. "I can make a shy Chihuahua become a proud Chihuahua but it remains a Chihuahua.

"I can’t make a Chihuahua into a Rottweiler so a few of my players at this moment are Chihuahuas away from home.

"I am not disrespecting the players – but I am Italian and I am talking about character."

But Macc manager Gary Simpson felt that referee Steve Rushton had somehow contrived to make two wrongs equal a right, admitting: "I’m not disputing that it might have been a penalty but he shouldn’t have been allowed to get there because they’ve flattened Elliott (Hewitt) just before that, it was a free kick to us 10 yards outside the box, it shouldn’t have got to the point where he has to make a decision on the penalty.

"It was a blatant foul on Elliott, everybody in the ground saw him put him flat on his face.

"How he couldn’t give that free kick I don’t know, and he’s given himself a problem, that’s probably why he hasn’t given the penalty, because he knows he’s made a bloomer with the first decision."