Fear of breaking curfew could rule out McGowan

DUNDEE boss Paul Hartley says Paul McGowan may not feature in any of the team’s remaining six games this season because he fears playing the troubled midfielder could see him break his police curfew and end up in prison. After his third conviction last week for assaulting a police officer, McGowan escaped a jail sentence but was placed under a restriction of liberty order and confined to his home from 7pm to 7am for 16 weeks. That has already ruled him out of the evening matches with Celtic at Dens Park tomorrow and at Parkhead on Friday, May 1, but Hartley believes that even playing in the three remaining

games in Dundee, which kick off at 3pm, could leave the player at risk of breaching his order. Hartley is worried that if McGowan was, for example, called up for after-match drug testing, required hospital treatment for an injury or was caught in traffic on the 80-mile journey back to his home in Coatbridge, he would run perilously close to his 7pm curfew. And he admits the only game in which McGowan would be able to safely feature is the final-day derby at Tannadice, which kicks off at 12.30pm on May 24, but even then he may not be risked. ‘Paul McGowan is available for selection but there is no guarantee he will play,’ conceded Hartley yesterday. ‘He has a curfew and we don’t want him to break it. ‘This is something I will need to look at between now and the end of the season. And we need to look at all aspects of this — where he is playing, what time he will leave after the match, travelling times and whether he gets an injury. ‘There are all sorts of things that could happen. Heavy traffic, or his car could break down, or he could be called in for drug testing — which can often take a long time. ‘The last game of the season is definitely one he can play in because of the early kick-off. We’ve not asked (the courts) for any special dispensation. But it’s something we might look at.’ McGowan has been fitted with an electronic tag on his ankle and, if selected by Hartley, it’s understood the match-day referee would need to inspect the device before each game to ensure there are no health and safety risks. Law 4 in the Laws of the Game states: ‘A player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player.’ Hartley said: “There’s been a suggestion he can’t play with the tag he has got but I am sure he could. I’ve seen it happen before in England.’ Meanwhile, Dundee have made a pre-contract agreement to sign the 23-year-old Aberdeen midfielder Nicky Low on a three-year deal.