Ross County boss Stuart Kettlewell has been handed a three-match touchline ban by the Scottish FA.
The punishment relates to an incident following County’s game with Livingston on August 29, in which Kettlewell believed referee John Beaton spoke to him “like a second-class citizen” and accused him of arrogance.
Kettlewell had taken issue with the decision to allow Livingston’s winner, as he felt goalscorer Jon Guthrie had fouled Ross Stewart in the build-up. Beaton sent off Kettlewell for his protestations.
He was charged under disciplinary rule 72, which relates to criticism of a match official, indicating bias or incompetence or make remarks that impinge on an official’s character.
The Staggies boss will sit out the next three games, which takes in Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday then Betfred Cup games against Montrose and Arbroath. There will also be a further two matches applied should Kettlewell breach the same rule again before the end of the season.
After the Livingston game, Kettlewell had added: “Tensions are high, passions are high. I want my team to win, I want my team to come here and get something out of the game. But when I go and ask the referee about the scenario and he tells you, ‘away you go, you’re clutching at straws’, then that becomes a wee bit of an annoyance to me.”
