Lawrence Shankland learns the outcome of the Hearts appeal as the tribunal gives the ruling on the Ross County dive yellow.
Hearts’ appeal against Lawrence Shankland’s booking for diving in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Ross County has been rejected. Referee Grant Irvine penalized the Jambos captain for going down in the box under a challenge from Ryan Leak with the score at 2-0 to County. Although video replays appeared to indicate contact, referee Irvine awarded County a foul and given Shankland a yellow card. Steven Naismith protested the judgment at full-time, and Hearts officials filed a ‘wrongful caution’ appeal on Monday. However, after hearing their argument and reviewing CCTV evidence of the incident this afternoon, an independent tribunal at Hampden upheld Irvine’s decision, ensuring the yellow card stands.
This is the second time the Jambos have appealed a booking issued to one of their players against County this season. Alan Forrest’s caution for going down in the area following a challenge from Staggies keeper Ross Laidlaw was revoked back in December.
Naismith stated on Saturday, “It wasn’t a dive by Shankland. There’s no simulation. Shanks goes over after the defender stretches his leg out to block the ball. I believed the ref was foolish for showing a [yellow] card. I believe he could have let the game go; I don’t think it was a foul, and no one searched for one.” Meanwhile, Barrie McKay will make his Hearts return against Dundee this week. The winger has made only seven appearances this season, the latest of which came in a derby victory against Hibs on December 27.
McKay was sidelined for more than three months at the start of the season due to a damaged posterior cruciate ligament and has been dealing with another knee issue since the capital clash over the holidays. However, his return is approaching and will be a significant boost to Steven Naismith as he attempts to secure third place and a Scottish Cup Final spot. Scott Fraser and Yutaro Oda, both injured, are scheduled to play in a friendly against Tony Docherty’s team during the international break. However, it comes too early for Liam Boyce, Craig Halkett, and Peter Haring, who is scheduled for knee surgery.
Naismith stated, “This international break is a little different from the rest since we have 10 or 11 players away. That’s more than we’ve ever had, which is a good thing. “We have certain players who have recently returned to the pitch, including McKay, Scott Fraser, and Yutaro Oda. There are lads that could benefit from a few minutes in the game, so it will be different for each of them. Some guys have played a lot of minutes and will likely require more recuperation than others.”
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