Naismith may not play for Hearts again as club accept two-match ban

0 Steven Naismith: ‘No malice’. Steven Naismith may have played his final match for Hearts after the Jambos opted to accept the offer of a twomatch ban for his stamp on Celtic captain Scott Brown.

Referee Bobby Madden took no action after the late challenge on the touchline during Sunday’s 3-1 win for the championsat Tynecastle, while Brendan Rodgers described the lunge as “shocking”.

SFA compliance officer Tony Mcglennan reviewed footage of incident earlier this week before issuing a notice of complaint to the former Rangers and Kilmarnock striker.

Hearts manager Craig Levein initially stated that the club would fight any charge, adding that he did not think it was a bad tackle.

However, the Jambos contacted the SFA prior to yesterday’s 3pm deadline to respond to the charge, confirming that they would not contest it.

Naismith will now miss the final match of his loan spell from Norwich against Kilmarnock on Sunday.

He would also be suspended for the opening Betfred Cup fixture of next season if Hearts get their wish and are able to snap the Scotland striker up on a permanent deal from the Canaries. His contract at Carrow Road runs until the summer of 2019.

Speaking about the challenge yesterday, Naismith stated: “The tackle was late and it probably merited some sort of punishment, but there wasn’t any malice.

“It’s not as if I jumped into the tackle. I actually thought Broony was going to take a touch but he slid and I was all in by then. It’s one of those things. I will accept what comes.”