Michael Stewart has doubled down on his belief that Heart of Midlothian youngster James Wilson was harshly sent off during Sunday’s 1-0 home defeat to Dundee United — but the former Tynecastle midfielder did offer a rare apology to referee Nick Walsh.
Stewart was on co-commentary duty for Premier Sports as Neil Critchley’s men fell to a narrow loss in a hot-tempered Scottish Premiership clash, with Sam Dalby’s second-half header sealing all three points for Jim Goodwin’s Terrors.
However, the game's biggest flashpoint came before half-time when 18-year-old Wilson was shown a straight red card in the 38th minute for a lunging challenge on Dundee United loanee Luca Stephenson.
Man in the middle Walsh wasted no time in brandishing red, but Stewart was visibly furious with the decision in real time, exclaiming: "Get a grip! Get a grip! I mean, I'm thinking to myself, you don't need to book him for this. Come on!”
Despite replays showing Wilson catching Stephenson high on the leg with studs showing, Stewart stuck to his guns live on air: "No chance. Not for me.”
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Even Hearts manager Neil Critchley conceded post-match that the red card was the right call — but Stewart remained unconvinced.
Speaking on Scottish Football Social Club the following day, host Darrell Currie asked the pundit whether time had changed his perspective.
"Just on the red card," Currie said. "You made quite a statement on commentary. Do you stand by what you said or have you softened a little?"
With a chuckle, Stewart responded: "Are you trying to say that your text messages within five minutes have calmed me down?"
Currie revealed he had messaged Stewart shortly after the incident, suggesting the pundit may have called it wrong based on certain replays.
Pressed further, Stewart admitted: “I will hold my hands up and apologise to the referee. I don't think it was a horrendous decision.”
But the apology came with a caveat.
"There's a but, there's a big but here," Stewart continued. "I think a yellow would've sufficed, personally. But I don't think it was a horrific decision. I think it's a borderline call that could've gone either way."
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While colleagues Alan Hutton and Currie joked about the rare apology, Stewart couldn't resist a final jab at the man in the middle.
"Having said all that," he added, "I've got to be honest, I think he went on to have a pretty bad game in general. But on that incident, which was clearly the biggest one of the game, I don't think it was a horrendous decision — which I initially did.
“And even when I was looking back at the replays, I thought it was a bad call. I still think a yellow would’ve sufficed personally.”
The defeat left Hearts still in the race for a Premiership top six finish, but with a huge final pre-split fixture against Motherwell to come this weekend, the loss of Wilson to suspension could prove costly.
