Scottish football has united in condemnation of the Scottish FA’s decision to offer Caley Thistle defender Josh Meekings a one-match ban, which would rule him out of the Scottish Cup final.
Less than 48 hours after helping the Highlanders reach the biggest match in the club’s history, Meekings has been left shattered by the SFA’s attempts to bar him from playing in the cup final against Championship side Falkirk at Hampden on May 30.
Meekings handled a netbound Leigh Griffiths header just before half-time of Sunday’s semi-final against Celtic. Had the offence been spotted, it would have led to a penalty kick for the Hoops, who were leading 1-0 at the time, and a red card for the Inverness player.
Hoops forward Griffiths claimed referee Steven McLean had told him he did not give the penalty as assistant Alan Muir ruled the ball had struck Meekings in the face.
The Inverness defender confirmed the ball struck his arm, but denied the incident was intentional.
On Monday Celtic announced they would be writing to the SFA asking for an explanation why the incident was missed by the match officials.
The saga continued yesterday when Meekings was offered a one-match suspension by SFA compliance officer Tony McGlennan after being deemed to have broken disciplinary rule 200 – denying the opposing team an obvious goal scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball.
Caley Thistle immediately rejected the offer of a one-game ban and will support their player when he appears before the SFA’s disciplinary panel tomorrow.
The Press and Journal contacted the SFA yesterday to ask whether other players had been cited for the same offence.
The governing body was unable to provide any examples.
A check of all the panel hearings this season showed there had been none before Meekings, but the SFA would not comment.
The football community has united in support of the Inverness player, with players and coaches expressing dismay at the SFA’s stance.
Former Caley Thistle midfielder Barry Wilson, who was part of the side which upset the Hoops in 2000 in the same competition, believes there has been a lack of common sense and fears where this notice of complaint will lead.
He said: “Nobody was cited in the 1986 World Cup when Diego Maradona punched one in against England – they let that one go.
“Everyone knows the ball hit Josh’s hand. But who says it was deliberate?
“Josh’s hand was up and he was maybe trying to make himself bigger, but the ball still hit him from two yards away at most.
“It would be a disaster for the game if this was to happen.
“It only takes one person to make a complaint to the compliance officer and they’d be duty-bound to look into it.
“At the same time, common sense is not something that goes hand in hand with the ruling bodies.
“Where do you stop in future? Will the game be replayed next?”
Wilson believes Celtic are also culpable in the decision by the SFA to try to punish Meekings.
He said: “I have a lot of time for Celtic, they are a good club. But I dare say they’ve had their fair share of controversial decisions go their way in the past.
“Celtic should be getting on with the rest of their season rather than looking for excuses.”
Wilson is also upset one of the most famous moments in his former club’s history is also being demeaned.
He added: “The incident is taking a lot of gloss off what Inverness did.
“Too much has been made of it, given how good the performance was. Celtic were 1-0 up with 11 players and Caley Thistle first of all got back into the game and then broke them down to win the tie.
“They should be getting a massive amount of respect, but it’s not happened.”
It is clear tomorrow’s disciplinary panel hearing will hinge on whether the SFA can prove Meekings’ handball was deliberate.
With his central defensive partner Gary Warren already missing the final due to suspension, the outcome could boost Falkirk’s hopes of beating Caley Jags next month. But Bairns technical director Alex Smith fears the SFA is setting a worrying tone in seeking to punish Meekings for a referee’s blunder.
“This decision is wrong and has just set a very dangerous precedent for Scottish football,” said Smith.
“The referee saw the incident and let play continue. He took no action and I cannot understand why retrospective action is being taken now. I’d like to know if the officials are being suspended for failing to spot the incident.
“What’s worse is it seems it has been determined, since the ball hit Meekings on the arm and no decision was made, that the player must have cheated and cannot be allowed to get away with it.
“No one is disputing the ball hit his hand, including the player himself, but I don’t see how it can be proven it was deliberate.”
Meekings’ former team-mates have also been critical of the SFA’s attempts to take retrospective action against the player.
Former Inverness and Hibernian midfielder Owain Tudur Jones, who retired from the game due to injury earlier this year, made his feelings known on social media.
He said: “If Josh Meekings misses the Scottish Cup final due to retrospective punishment after an unseen handball incident, we may as well cancel football. Very embarrassing situation for the Scottish FA if that isn’t overturned.”
Aberdeen midfielder Jonny Hayes, who also played with Meekings at Caledonian Stadium, said: “Bit silly the whole thing regarding Josh Meekings. I don’t think players should be punished retrospectively like that.
“Will get to the stage where every weekend we’ll have fans writing letters officiating the game rather than officials.
“Where’s the line drawn now? Can we write in about the numerous decisions gone against us? Thought not.
“Hopefully sense is seen and Josh is allowed, rightfully in my opinion, to play in the final.”
Former Ross County forward Steven Craig added: “Come on, are you serious? How can you punish a player for an unintentional act to which the officials didn’t see? Farcical.”
Former Hearts and Hibs midfielder Michael Stewart was short, but scathing, in his assessment when he said: “Beyond belief that SFA would try to ban Meekings from the cup final. Shocking.”
But perhaps it was former Aberdeen goalkeeper David Preece who summed it up most succinctly.
“Is this a late April fool?”
If only it were.