Unsettled Hernandez seals Dons switch to MLS

VENEZUELAN right-back Ronald Hernandez has completed a loan move from Aberdeen to MLS partners Atlanta United. The 23-year-old signed from Norwegian club Stabaek in an £850,000 move last January. After just three starts and three substitute appearances for the Pittodrie first team, the defender will now take advantage of Aberdeen’s strategic tie-up with Atlanta to get first-team games between now and the end of the MLS season. Hernandez was isolated from his family and found it difficult to settle in Scotland due to coronavirus and the effects of lockdown. Dons boss Derek McInnes said: ‘Sadly, the events of 2020 and the impact of the global pandemic have undoubtedly had an impact on Ronald’s time at Pittodrie. When he arrived, he had just completed pre-season in Norway, and we were mid-way through the 2019/20 season, but we worked hard with him to try to develop his fitness and adapt to the Scottish game. However, the curtailment of the season meant his ability to make any impact on the team was limited. He made personal sacrifices while in Scotland, not least having to spend lockdown in Aberdeen on his own. ‘Because of visa restrictions due to the pandemic, he had not seen his wife or young daughter in almost a year until he was given compassionate leave in December, and the lasting impact of that should not be underestimated.’ Dons defender Tommie Hoban, meanwhile, has repeated his call for more consistency from referees when it comes to the handball rules. Penalised when the ball struck his arm in a 1-1 draw with St Mirren in December, the Irishman was frustrated by the refusal of referee Alan Muir to give Aberdeen a spot-kick for a similar offence by Stephen Welsh in Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat to Celtic. Six games without a goal is an unwanted new Aberdeen record and Hoban believes it should have ended with a first-half penalty at Parkhead. He said: ‘All we’re looking for is consistency. If that’s going to be the rule, it has to be given throughout. In England with VAR, it’s easier. But I understand it’s difficult in real-time as referees have to make a decision on the spot.’