Steve Tosh works for Red TV but the former Aberdeen midfielder is adamant it’s not blind bias that has him scratching his head over the additional one match handed to Dons skipper Graeme Shinnie by the SFA.
It’s just utter disbelief that the independent appeals tribunal set up to consider Aberdeen ’s defence of the man, who was red carded in Dingwall on Friday night, was deemed to be frivolous with no chance of success, so his punishment was upped from three matches to four.
Tosh watched the match, and while he was unsurprised that Aberdeen lost their appeal, he was gobsmacked at the decision to heap an additional ban onto the Pittodrie skipper, who will now be out until the second last game of the season as his club chases a European bounty that could be worth up to £5m to them. He said: “I didn’t think they would overturn the decision. That would have made them look daft, particularly as it was a VAR job.
“But the fact is that the referee was five yards away from the challenge and didn’t even deem it to be a foul. The assistant ref and the fourth official were each within 15 yards of it, looking at it from different angles and didn’t think it was a foul.
“It’s only when VAR gets involved and everything gets slowed down, that it looks so much worse. You see that in the boxing when someone gets hit with a jab and it doesn’t look much, then in slow motion you see the guy’s face contorting. So, when VAR intervened I feared the worst for Shinnie.
“Look, he’s a totally committed player, but so was the Ross County player (Jack Baldwin). When Shinnie wins the ball, where else can his leg go but through to connect with his opponent?
“The laws of the game might deem it be a red card, but there’s enough doubt there to justify the appeal even if Aberdeen weren’t entirely confident they would win it. The one thing they wouldn’t have expected was to have their captain suspended for an additional game. That’s harsh and unfair because they had every right to appeal a decision that on the night, the match officials didn’t even think was a foul.”
Former Dons full back Richard Foster agreed with that sentiment. He told Record Sport : “Shinnie has to follow through after he’s won the ball. There’s nowhere else he can go.
"But if you look at him, his eyes are on the ball, which he wins and there is no malice whatsoever in what was a strong challenge by two totally committed players. I know the game has changed and it’s a red card but I’d have been getting sent off every second week if I were still playing!
“I can understand the club’s frustration, though, because it’s hardly a frivolous appeal. It’s one they thought they had a chance of winning and already this season we’ve seen Dundee United win one when Tony Watt was sent off in similar circumstances after a VAR intervention.
“It just seems strange that the SFA, who have a lot going on with VAR, should make this decision and provoke more controversy when there just doesn’t seem to be a need for it.”
And Tosh, who still works in the Granite City believes the governing body could have saved themselves and Aberdeen a whole lot of hassle. The 49-year-old, who spent two years at Pittodrie between 2003-05, added: “When Aberdeen were submitting their appeal, why did someone from the SFA not call them and say: ‘Look, you’re not going to win this and it is going to be considered as an appeal with no chance of success, which means there will be an extra game ban.’
“I’m sure Aberdeen would have thought twice about it. Let’s face it, they knew there was a fair chance they’d be losing Shinnie for three games, but losing him for four is a high price to pay.
“Finishing third is massive, with entry to the Europa Conference League group stages guaranteeing European football until Christmas. Aberdeen have put themselves in a great position and Shinnie has been a huge part of that. To lose him now until the second last game of the season is a huge blow and it could have been avoided by a bit of common sense from the SFA.”
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