I've always found the SFA appeals process a pain - ever since a doctor on a three-man Hampden panel questioned my tackle after a derby day draw at Tynecastle.
No not that tackle. Although the outcome of the trip to Hampden was a severe boot in the privates. The doc asked if I really needed to go in on a challenge with Hibs skipper James McPake that had been missed by ref Willie Collum but had seen me hit with a two-game retrospective ban by the SFA.
I said: “With all due respect, would I tell you how to go about cutting into an artery?” The appeals process is still a shambles and Hearts’ decision this week not to challenge Alex Cochrane’s red card against Celtic for fear of his ban being extended just sums it all up. It’s a cop out in my opinion. A weak stance. Hearts should have been stronger than that. It brought infuriating memories back from that episode a decade ago when I found myself at the centre of that appeals system - twice.
