That sounds most unlike Lambert. Maybe the dirty Brighton players got into his face and he retaliated. He shouldn't have but it's sounds like Brighton have been trying to get one of our players sent off (re. Harding in the first half) and El Abt has form for this sort of cheating.
One small bright spot: one of the matches he'll miss will be the Coventry game, which he would probably have been rested for anyway.