"He's going through a difficult time, we all are. He was having a good game as well," said Souness after the 4-3 defeat.
"It was a penalty and the rules say it is a sending-off and I am sure we will be on the other end of those rules this season.
"For the first 45 minutes we were a bit better than them, we got a well-worked goal and could have gone 2-0 up, but the sending-off changed the whole game once more.
"Lady Luck was not shining on us again and we have to keep believing in what we are doing. There were some very good things, most of all the spirit we showed."