SFA’s rule book is full of empty gestures

KICK an opponent when the ball is gone and the SFA Compliance Officer will turn a blind eye. Make an offensive gesture to opposition fans and it’s nothing to write home about. But woe betide the player who kicks in the referee’s door. That’s just asking for trouble. St Johnstone’s Richard Foster will be hauled up before a disciplinary panel next month for booting lumps out of a plank of wood after a 3-2 defeat to Dundee. If it’s proven, it’s excessive misconduct. No question. But you could hardly blame the defender for marching up to Hampden’s sixth floor with a folder full of whataboutery. Incidents the Compliance Officer has conspicuously overlooked in recent weeks. Scott Brown and Alfredo Morelos survived television images appearing to show both aim fly-kicks at opponents. No action. Hibs manager Neil Lennon aimed a ‘get it up ye’ at Rangers supporters. Nothing to see here. An offensive hand gesture from Josh Windass of Rangers towards Partick Thistle fans? Move along now. People are puzzled by this stuff. The process is too arbitrary, the random nature of citations difficult to fathom. What constitutes excessive misconduct is a subjective matter. But players from all clubs should be held to a certain standard. If Benedict Cumberbatch flicked the bird at a coupler of hecklers in the Old Vic stalls, he’d find himself on the front page of the Daily Telegraph. Scottish football must be the only form of live entertainment where abusive gestures towards the paying punters are rated fair comment.