Zeli, who grabbed what would go on to be the Saddlers' winning goal thirteen minutes from time, was first booked for time-wasting after seventy minutes, before collecting a second caution for handball.
Whilst Keates admitted that he will discuss the first booking with the winger, he believes the second was too harsh, and went as far to say that the former Wolverhampton Wanderers prospect, who apologised to the players after the match, had 'nothing to apologise for' and backed him to bounce back in style.
Dean, who was speaking via the Express & Star, said; "The first yellow we will have a chat about – that’s where he needs to do better. The second one – he’s a yard from the lad and the ricochet has hit him on the hand. One week it goes for you, one week it doesn’t.
"He was disappointed and he apologised to the lads – but he has nothing to apologise for. He scored the winning goal. Yes, his red card has made the last 10 minutes more difficult, but that’s what the lads are about – they made sure him going off the pitch didn’t affect the result.
"They had Zeli’s back. And there will be weeks where Zeli is going to perform and be the best player on the pitch – he might be the difference for us getting a 1-0 victory. And that’s when he will turn around and say ‘I’ve repaid you for what you did for me at Rochdale’."