Inverness have expressed their astonishment after their appeal over Danny Devine’s red card against Arbroath was dismissed by the Scottish Football Association.
The centre-back was controversially sent off by referee Willie Collum for denying Jack Hamilton an obvious goalscoring opportunity during Caley Thistle’s cinch Premiership play-off semi-final win over the Red Lichties.
The pair collided as Hamilton won an aerial ball and Collum ruled that Devine had pulled the striker down. A three-person panel deemed on Wednesday that the decision should stand and that Devine will sit out Friday’s play-off final first leg at home to St Johnstone.
“We are astonished to report that our appeal against Danny Devine’s red card v Arbroath has been turned down by the three-person SFA Fast Track Tribunal panel and Danny will now be forced to miss the first leg of the Premiership Play-off Final,” Inverness said in a statement.
The Highland club were already frustrated at being unable to contest Wallace Duffy’s contentious dismissal in the same match as there is no appeal route when a player is sent off for two yellow cards.
“We mentioned in our statement on Monday that we would also have appealed the incredible red card decision given by the match referee against Wallace Duffy, who is also now out of the 1st leg Play-off Final but that the rules did not allow for this,” continued the Inverness statement.
“Everyone at ICTFC is shocked and dismayed that despite widespread universal condemnation of both red cards from all across the game on the night and in the days since Friday’s game, that due to these decisions, we will once again be made to suffer in our efforts to gain promotion.
“The Management, the Players, the Staff and just as importantly, the Caley Jag support will now need to pull together over the next two crucial games to show that just as on Friday night in Arbroath, we won’t turn away from our target no matter the challenges we face or the unjust adversity forced upon us.”
