McKee banned for Shiels abuse

Falkirk midfielder Joe McKee has been hit with a four-match ban for abusing Dean Shiels over the Dunfermine player’s missing eye.

A Scottish FA judicial panel hearing at Hampden last night found the 24-yearold guilty of ‘excessive misconduct’ when the teams met in a stormy Irn-Bru Cup tie two months ago.

Bairns team-mate Kevin O’Hara, who had offered an apology to Shiels after the ill-tempered clash on October 7, was hit with an eight-game ban after accepting the same charges last month.

Supported by chairman Margaret Lang at a reconvened meeting that lasted more than six hours, McKee pleaded his innocence but could not convince the panel.

Shiels was sent-off in the 2-0 defeat for Dunfermline for a wild challenge on McKee, but the allegations of abuse did not emerge until after the league match between the sides on November 4.

The SFA had agreed to requests from both sides not to release news of the notices of complaints until after the teams had met.

McKee, who is currently sidelined with an injury, will now be unavailable until the home encounter with Queen of the South on December 30.

The length of suspensions mean both players will be back in time for the next ‘derby’ against bitter rivals Dunfermline in the game after that at East End Park on January 2.

Falkirk decided against appealing O’Hara’s sentence last month after asking for the written judgment and it remains to be seen whether they will similarly accept McKee’s censure.

Joe McKee arrives at Hampden yesterday for the hearing.