PFA Scotland have backed Graeme Shinnie in the wake of his four game ban and insist players have “lost faith” in the disciplinary system.
Aberdeen were left raging after appealing Shinnie’s red card against Ross County last Friday night as Shinnie’s ban was increased for what was seen as a “frivolous appeal” from the PIttodrie club. They are now without one of their most experienced players until the penultimate game of the season as they look to keep distance between themselves and Hearts in the race for third place.
Now the union that represents players north of the border has weighed in, claiming that they have long held concerns over the “discretionary power" of the judicial panel that reviews appeals, independently of the Scottish FA. A statement read: "PFA Scotland has always been deeply concerned about the discretionary power of the Judicial Panel to add a further game ban to a player’s suspension should he/she lose their appeal.
"It is incumbent on any governing body to ensure that everyone has access to natural justice, win or lose. We feel the aim of this rule, and the appeal fee a club/player must pay, is to discourage players from actually appealing. This is of course very wrong and offends fairness and natural justice, nevertheless the Scottish FA may get its wish; many of our members have lost faith in a system.
"Whatever the opinion of the incident, it is exactly that, a matter of opinion not a question of fact. Remember the referee and his assistant were close to the incident and didn’t deem the tackle to be worthy of a red card at the time.
"On that basis Graeme should be perfectly entitled to appeal without the threat of an extra suspension. How a panel can deem the appeal to be frivolous is worrying. We support Aberdeen’s request to urgently review the appeal with a new panel.
"This decision has meant Graeme has lost his place for four games with financial implications, a stain on his excellent reputation as a professional and possibly his place in the team longer term. It has been suggested the introduction of VAR would see no need for the appeals process – but we consider that the recent evidence shows the opposite is true.
"We call for the Scottish FA to take urgent action to remove the option to add an extra game from its rules, respect a player’s right to appeal and review the process of dealing with appeals from those whose employment is affected. We also call upon current players and PFA Scotland to be consulted properly on all matters relating to VAR."
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