Raith boss calls for a review after ‘shambles’
He could be forgiven for not wanting his Raith Rovers team to face James Keatings in the Challenge Cup Final – but John McGlynn is glad the Inverness Caley Thistle striker has been cleared to play.
McGlynn has branded the controversy that has raged around Keatings as “an absolute shambles” after the SFA made a humiliating u-turn on the red-card appeal that had ruled the 28-yearold out of the final later this month.
McGlynn reckons the decision to show the former Hearts, Hibs and Hamilton Accies attacker a second yellow card for simulation in their semifinal victory over Rangers Colts was bad enough at the time.
But the SFA panel that then dismissed Caley Thistle’s appeal, despite overwhelming TV footage proving Keatings had not dived, has left the Rovers manager calling for a review of the disciplinary process.
Keatings’ availability may make it even harder for Raith to pull off an upset against Inverness, but McGlynn is delighted to see the right decision made in the end.
He said: “It was obvious it was an injustice at the time.
“Even just watching the game, I couldn’t really believe it.
“Everything that’s happened has been a shambles for Scottish football, an absolute shambles. How can we get into these situations?
“It has to be looked at, that we have proper people on these panels.
“You can’t have that nonsense going on, it’s incompetent.
“But there’s no doubt that James Keatings should be available for the final, and I’ve got no problem with that whatsoever.”