With their shocking treatment of Graeme Shinnie, the Scottish FA surely think they are impenetrable as an organisation – but those walls need to be knocked down.
To hammer Dons captain Shinnie with a four-match ban after a tackle which didn’t even deserve a red card is a disgrace.
Aberdeen rightly stood up to the SFA, brandishing the ban – following an unsuccessful appeal against the dismissal – as “ridiculously harsh” and urging them to urgently review the appeal.
Good on the Dons for taking a stance.
Now other Scottish clubs need to come out in support of Aberdeen and Shinnie to create a unified voice which shows this will not be tolerated.
Strength in numbers.
It will be for the benefit of all clubs in the long run if they stand together and take a stance against the injustice of Shinnie’s ban.
I was left in stunned disbelief when Shinnie was hit with an extra game ban because the independent appeals tribunal deemed the red card appeal “frivolous” with no chance of success.
Frivolous? Really. The sheer arrogance to suggest that is infuriating.
Due to the so-called frivolous nature of the appeal, a further game ban was slapped on for good measure, taking it from three to four.
It smacks of “how dare you go against our judgement”.
What a joke.
Why should players be threatened with an extra game ban for appealing a decision they feel is blatantly wrong?
Football is in very dangerous territory if players are being punished for appealing a red card.
Shinnie and the Dons should be perfectly entitled to appeal without the threat of a longer suspension.
It is a grossly unfair rule, and needs to be abolished as soon as possible.
The injustice of the extra game ban only adds insult to injury after the wrongful red card issued to Shinnie by referee Euan Anderson following a VAR review in Dingwall.
It was never a sending off.
Shinnie went in for the ball and won it before any accidental collision with Ross County’s Jack Baldwin.
You cannot stop the momentum of a sliding tackle.
Referee Anderson and his assistants never saw anything wrong with the tackle at the time.
Anderson was five yards away from the challenge and awarded a throw-in straight after the tackle when the ball bounced out of play.
Yet someone watching footage 180 miles away in Glasgow decided it should be looked at again.
VAR is not about that. It should only come into play to assist the referee after what is a clear and obvious mistake.
That was clearly not the case with Shinnie’s tackle in Dingwall.
When you go into a tackle with someone your eyes are on the ball all the time.
As Shinnie’s momentum took him into Baldwin, the Dons captain wasn’t looking at the Ross County defender.
Shinnie was looking at the ball all the time – and won it.
Due to the ridiculous severity of Shinnie’s ban, he will now miss four of the remaining six games of the Premiership season.
🔴RED CARD!
Graeme Shinnie is sent off for Aberdeen after a VAR check. Correct call?🔽 pic.twitter.com/9A1DphuLGG
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) April 14, 2023
Aberdeen are in the race to finish third and potentially earn multi-millions with European qualification.
Yet their inspirational skipper has been taken away from them at the most important time of the campaign.
As I said, Aberdeen have taken a stance and other clubs must join them to show the SFA harsh decisions like this will not be tolerated.
Magnificent seven against Rangers
Aberdeen can still overcome Rangers at Pittodrie on Sunday despite the absence of suspended captain Graeme Shinnie.
Skipper Shinnie is hugely influential and drives the team on with his will to win.
However, that drive also comes from players like Ross McCrorie and Ylber Ramadani.
Aberdeen must face Rangers with the confidence and self belief they can win – and I am sure boss Barry Robson will instill that in them.
The Dons have goals in them with striker Duk hitting great form with six goals in the last six Premiership games.
That is good shooting from the Cape Verde international.
Aberdeen’s defence have also been exceptional during the recent six-game winning run.
The Dons backline were superb in the recent 1-0 defeat of Ross County.
Rangers may be sitting second in the Premiership table, but Aberdeen have absolutely nothing to fear on Sunday.
They will be backed by a large, passionate Red Army, who will raise the Pittodrie roof.
A packed Pittodrie and the Dons on their longest winning run since 2015 – all of the ingredients are there for a victory.
Aberdeen have been so good at closing down players quickly, which is a key part of the modern game.
If they can do that on Sunday they will have a great chance of securing three points.
Aberdeen are five points clear in third spot and will be desperate to retain that advantage.
European qualification and potential group stage football next season is a huge incentive for Aberdeen.
Three months ago, when the Reds were struggling so badly, who would have thought they would be sitting in third spot going into the split?
It has been a remarkable turnaround under Robson and they can overcome Rangers to maintain that winning momentum.
Cove Rangers face battle for survival
Cove Rangers face a huge battle to maintain their Championship status and hopefully they can remain in the second tier.
Paul Hartley’s side currently prop up the table, but have a game in hand against second-bottom Hamilton who are two points better off.
It will take a momentous effort from Cove to beat the drop, but it is still possible.
Even if the worst happens and they go down, I am confident Cove would bounce straight back to the Championship.
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