Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has expressed his disappointment that the SFA has refused to grant permission for Kyle Lafferty to play in friendlies or reserve matches while serving a ten-game ban, believing his enforced period of inactivity could have put the striker’s mental health at risk.
Lafferty was punished by the governing body in October after footage of him abusing a Celtic supporter with a sectarian insult while on international duty with Northern Ireland appeared on social media.
McInnes accepted the verdict but is upset that the former Rangers man is forbidden from appearing in bounce games during his enforced spell on the sidelines which began on October 18 and will not end until he is eligible for the Viaplay Cup semi-final against Celtic on January 14.
“He isn’t allowed to play in any official games so he can’t play reserve football or in any game where we have to ask the SFA for referees,” he said.
“We play 11 versus 11 in training and try to keep him involved and try to get that pitch work but he hasn’t missed a session and he comes to every game.
“It’s a particularly long ban due to the World Cup: Kyle missed five matches before the [tournament] and he’ll now miss another five after it.”
Lafferty has been able to train as normal but McInnes suspects that this period of inactivity has been damaging.
“Monday to Friday he’s a bit of a handful about the place,” he said. “He’s great for team morale and brings so much from that side of it.
“I’d spoken to people who’d managed him before and they said that [during the week] he can be a bit madcap and full of fun but come Saturday he was always switched on. There was a switch to be competitive, do the job and win the game.
“He’s a very supportive teammate and very popular with the others and my staff but it can’t be easy for him.
“Kyle’s someone who plays on the edge and there’s that whole well-being aspect with young players and young men when what they do, what’s most important to what them in life - their main function - is taken away from them.
“You have to be careful and mindful of that. We’re disappointed he wasn’t allowed to play in bounce games and reserve football because - from the point of view of the whole mental health issue - we hoped he could still get some stimulus by playing [behind closed doors].
“The fact he was denied that means training becomes even more important for him and us. But he’s still making a contribution. It’s not the one he’s paid for or the one we want from him but he’s certainly being supportive.”
