Brendon McCullum suggested it would have been "disrespectful" to withdraw an appeal in a tense ODI series decider against Australia.
Mitch Marsh was given out caught and bowled on Monday night by the third umpire.
Umpire Ian Gould only recognised New Zealand had appealed after a replay was shown on the big screen in Hamilton.
NZ skipper McCullum acknowledged his side profited from a bungled process that was "far from ideal".
However, the man who won a Spirit of Cricket Award from the International Cricket Council in 2015 rejected the idea he could have withdrawn the appeal.
"It's a tough one because I don't think it's my decision to do that. If anything, it's almost disrespectful to do so," McCullum said after his controversial swansong.
"Ultimately, it comes down to the umpires' decision. They decided to review it which is pretty normal.
"A lot of occasions, you see bump balls referred pretty much every other time."
McCullum famously attacked Steve Smith in a newspaper column during an ODI in England last year for not withdrawing a contentious appeal.
He opined that new Australian skipper Smith "missed a great opportunity to strike a blow for the spirit of cricket".
"He may live to regret it ... Smith showed his immaturity," McCullum wrote.
Smith couldn't see any irony in Monday's events.
"They're well within their rights (to appeal)," Smith said.
"I don't think it's McCullum's decision - it's the umpires' decision.
"The whole process needs to be a little bit smoother.
"I was a little bit disappointed with the way it came up on the screen.
"He (McCullum) stopped for a while to watch on the big screen but they're well within their rights, yes."
Smith and McCullum are yet to speak about the controversial incident, which threatens to overshadow the build-up to the two-Test series that starts on Friday.
McCullum insisted he'd acted above board.
"When it did come up on the screen - which is not ideal - I sort of yelled out to Gunner (Gould)," he said.
"'What the... is going on!?'.
"He obviously then came over and said I didn't think you guys appealed - but we did.
"That's when they discussed it. The only thing I said was 'surely the right decision needs to be made'."
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