Jason Holt will feature against St Mirren tonight after Livingston chose to appeal his ‘ridiculous’ red card from Saturday’s defeat to Hibs.
The former Hearts man was shown a straight red for a 15th minute challenge on Kevin Nisbet. The hosts were able to take full advantage of that decision by sealing a comfortable 4-0 victory.
Livi boss David Martindale admitted he was stunned VAR didn’t intervene and believes the club ‘have a duty’ to appeal the decision.
That means he is available for selection as the appeal won’t be heard until after tonight’s clash with the Buddies.
A frustrated Martindale said: “I think it was a ridiculous decision. The referee’s got it wrong, fair enough, but then at that point VAR’s got to kick in.
“That’s what VAR’s for, to get game-changing decisions right, so I’m really disappointed and frustrated that the referee never had the opportunity to go and look at the monitor.
“We all make mistakes, I’m not blaming Craig (Napier, referee) but I’m very disappointed he’s not gone over, or not been asked, to look at the monitor. I think there’s a problem if he’s not been told to look at the monitor.
“If people sitting in the offices at VAR, with six different camera angles, are saying that’s a red card, I think we’ve got a huge problem.”
He added: “In real time, I genuinely thought it was a yellow card but watching it back from two camera angles, it’s not even a foul. It was highly disappointing and frustrating. VAR got misused on Saturday.
“You’ve got to remember, there’s not a lot of money at Livingston so players have got a lot of appearance money and win bonuses in their contracts. Jason could potentially miss two games and potentially a lot of money.
“That’s unfair on the player and due to sporting integrity, it’s unfair on Livingston. I’ve got a duty of care to Livingston and to Jason Holt.
“If I thought there was anything (bad) in that challenge, I probably wouldn’t appeal it, but after looking at it, I have to appeal it for Jason and the football club. Hopefully it comes out with the correct decision.”
The Lions will be aiming to get back to winning ways following away defeats to both Celtic and Hibs since their return from the winter break but may well have to do without Joel Nouble.
The attacker missed both defeats with knee inflammation and Martindale admits he may not be risked tonight, saying: “Joel’s progressing very slowly. There’s a possibility he will be available but I’ve probably got a decision to make in terms of whether to rush him back or wait until the next game.”
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