Neilson faces suspension for Aberdeen match
HEARTS manager Robbie Neilson is facing an anxious wait to discover if he will have to serve a touchline ban in tomorrow’s visit of Aberdeen.
Neilson was dismissed to the stand during the second half of Friday’s 1- 0 victory over St Mirren after receiving two separate cautions from referee David Munro.
The first yellow card was for arguing about the exact placement of a Buddies free- kick near the halfway line and Neilson claimed he was not sure why he picked up the second.
Scottish FA compliance officer Martin Black will now review Munro’s report from the game and should he determine that a misconduct offence has been committed, Neilson is likely to be offered a dugout suspension.
Neilson was handed a one- game ban last season after being sent off for two cautions during the October 2021 draw at Rangers.
However, that penalty also triggered an outstanding two- game ban from the previous campaign, meaning Neilson was absent from the technical area for three successive games.
With Sunday’s Scottish Cup derby clash against Hibs also on the horizon, Neilson will be hoping he is at least able to take his place on the touchline at Easter Road.
Managers who are serving dugout bans are excluded from the ‘ playing zone’ on match days. This means they are not allowed in the dressing rooms, the match officials’ room, the tunnel and the dugout within 75 minutes of kick- off until 15 minutes after the final whistle.
Neilson, meanwhile, is mindful of having two hugely important games in a week against Aberdeen and Hibs but insists cannot prioritise one over the other when it comes to team selection.
Neilson, whose team are four and six points ahead of Livingston and Aberdeen respectively, added: “We will pick the team that we think is going to win the game on Wednesday.
“Yes, Sunday’s game is massive for us, but the next game is always the most important here. This will be a home game in front of an 18,000 crowd.
“Hopefully we can extend that gap [ in third] again.”