West Brom boss Alan Pardew confirmed Jonny Evans was stripped of the captaincy against Southampton because he wanted to "make a little bit of a statement."
Evans was one of four senior players, along with Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill, who are alleged to have stolen a taxi during the club's training camp in Barcelona this week.
The embarrassing episode sparked outrage among supporters when the news first broke late on Thursday night, with the trip brokered as a chance to refocus as Albion, bottom of the Premier League, prepared for one last push for top-flight survival.
West Brom are the odds-on favourites at 2/5 in Sky Bet's Premier League relegation market.
Pardew, who admitted before the FA Cup clash that the incident has left him fuming, felt it necessary to send out a message that those involved deserved punishment but admitted he was torn between trying to win the tie.
"There was a problem in terms of selection because of the incident to go with my strongest team," said Pardew after a 2-1 defeat.
"I decided to do that. I felt I needed to make a little bit of a statement about the events. I was far from happy over them and made Gareth (McAuley) captain today."
Sky Bet make Pardew the 5/4 favourite to be the next Premier League manager to leave his job.
Asked if the punishment would extend beyond Saturday's game, Pardew replied: "I'll have to have a look at that this week and see how we go."
West Brom looked off the pace in the first half. Evans and Barry both started the game and both had their names booed by a small section of the home support as the teams were announced just before kick-off.
Goals at the beginning of each half from Wesley Hoedt and Dusan Tadic gave West Brom a mountain to climb but Salomon Rondon's superb volley quickly got them back into the match.
Albion pushed hard for an equaliser and Pardew believes their second-half display shows he still has the support of the players and that he remains the right man for the job of preserving the club's Premier League status.
West Brom are seven points from the safety of 17th place - a position currently occupied by their next opponents Huddersfield.
"Yeah, absolutely. I think the second half proved that," said Pardew, who has won only three of his 17 games in charge in all competitions since taking over in November.
"It was difficult to go 2-0 down in the circumstances we're under and I think anybody who was here today will see that was a proper fight and a proper effort.
"I hope I'm the right man because I'm an experienced manager. I've experienced this situation a few times before. Once I have been relegated, at Charlton, but I've got out of this situation before at Newcastle and Crystal Palace and I'm determined to get out of this one as well."
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