VANCOUVER – After releasing Jason High earlier this week, UFC President Dana White reaffirmed his stance on the fighter following an in-cage incident this past Saturday.

“I don’t care how mad you are, how upset you are,” White said during a scrum with reporters following a media day for UFC 174 in Vancouver. “You don’t touch a referee ever. Unforgivable. Don’t come back, ever.”

High (18-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) shoved referee Kevin Mulhall after Rafael dos Anjos (21-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) stopped him with a second-round TKO on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 42. Dos Anjos delivered a barrage of punches, then looked at Mulhall, who halted the bout at the 3:36 mark of the round (check out the dos Anjos vs. High video highlights).

High, who had been struck with some illegal blows to the back of the head during the fight-ending sequence, quickly sprung to his feet and shoved Mulhall.

White then on Tuesday announced High, 32, had been released from the promotion.

White was not at the fight, and on Thursday said he didn’t see video of the shove – and didn’t need to see any footage.

“I heard – I didn’t even see it – that he put his hands on a referee. Done,” White said. “You touched a referee. Done. Over. That’s worse than what (Paul) Daley did to (Josh) Koscheck.”

In 2010, Daley threw a punch at Koscheck after the final bell at UFC 113 in Montreal. After that fight, White cut Daley from the promotion and vowed to not bring him back.

High, who re-joined the UFC after a 3-0 stint with Strikeforce, suffered a submission loss to Erick Silva in his return to the organization this past year. However, the former welterweight, who had a one-fight stint with the UFC in 2010, then picked up wins over James Head and Anthony Lapsley as part of an overall 9-1 run.

Following the event, High issued an apology.

“Incredibly sorry & embarrassed for the ref incident,” High wrote afterward on Twitter. “Will never happen again.”

According to White, it will have to not happen again outside of the UFC. The decision, he said, was an easy one.

“No brainer. No brainer,” he said.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 42, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

– John Morgan and Mike Bohn contributed to this report on site in Vancouver.