The problem isn't so much the things the ref did give, it's the things he didn't. At this level there are too many refs that end up punishing the retaliation but don't see the incidents leading up to it. The off-the-ball niggles, the late challenges, the leaving a foot in. The ref move on so quickly that he misses all these things.
How Gleeson stayed on the pitch last night is a mystery, and how we ended up with 5 cards to Dons 2 is also astonishing. There were maybe 2 or 3 challenges all night that deserved a card.