INCOMPETENT
McInnes takes aim at SFA appeals panel after Devlin decision
ANGRY Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes last night branded the SFA’s appeals panel ‘incompetent’ after failing to overturn a controversial red card issued to Michael Devlin.
The Dons defender was sent off by referee Craig Thomson during his side’s 2-0 home defeat by Kilmarnock earlier this month.
The match official ruled that Devlin had denied Eamonn Brophy a goalscoring opportunity after just four minutes when he brought the striker down 35 yards from goal.
But irate Aberdeen were adamant that Brophy had fouled Devlin first — and that they also had players in position to cover their centre-half, including right-back Shay Logan.
The Pittodrie side contested the red card but saw their case thrown out by the SFA’s three-man disciplinary panel last Wednesday.
It means that Devlin will now miss his side’s trip to face St Johnstone this weekend and that has left McInnes saddened, baffled and furious.
Last night, the Dons boss expressed his concern over a disciplinary review process that has seen a string of contentious high-profile decisions recently.
These include Kilmarnock’s failure to overturn a red card for Gary Dicker against Hearts and the lack of action against Allan McGregor after the Rangers keeper kicked out at Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer during this month’s Old Firm match.
McInnes said: ‘It really angers and saddens me that we can’t come to what, for me, was the only verdict.
‘Referees make mistakes. We’ve been the victims of mistakes in the last couple of games and we get that.
‘But when there is an appeal process there, you would expect that to get to the right outcome.
‘But the last four or five of these appeal processes with different clubs, there doesn’t seem to be that common-sense conclusion.
‘It goes right across the board. Managers have a vested interest but I think supporters, journalists and people in the game all have the same opinion — we are all baffled by some of these decisions.
‘It’s nothing about bias and I want to make that clear. I think every club gets punished or gets some leeway at some point.
‘For me, it’s the incompetence of these panels that calls it into question.
‘Especially with the Mikey Devlin decision for us. These appeal processes are like VAR for after the event, so we can come to the right decision.
‘But I just can’t for the life of me understand it with Michael being fouled in the first place and having Shay Logan getting round and covering.
‘I just felt it was an opportunity missed to make the right decision but it’s been pretty standard over the last wee while.’
McInnes fully believes recent decisions have undermined the appeals system and fears clubs may not engage with it in future.
Appeals are put before a three-man SFA panel made up of former referees, who must agree unanimously if the appeal is to succeed or not.
‘It just means people lose confidence in the whole process and it will make you think twice about appealing,’ added McInnes.
‘It is just so disappointing that we didn’t get Michael available for this weekend.
‘We have already been punished by losing him after four minutes of the match. So we were punished in the game against Kilmarnock and we are now getting punished for the St Johnstone game as well for something I think should have been dealt with in the right manner.’