Red-card warning for capital pair

Published on Saturday 12 May 2012 03:22

PLAYERS at Hearts and Hibs will walk a disciplinary tightrope this weekend in fear of missing out on next weekend’s Scottish Cup final.

The capital rivals are both likely to rest key figures in their final SPL matches of the season, with Hibs having secured their top-flight safety ahead of their trip to face Inverness.

Hearts, on the other hand, could still be overtaken by St Johnstone for fifth spot and Europa League qualification unless they pick up a point against Celtic at Parkhead.

No matter who does take to the field, both teams will know they will have to be on their best behaviour or risk being suspended for next Saturday’s Hampden showpiece. A straight red card for ‘violent conduct’, ‘serious foul play’ or ‘spitting at an opponent or any other person’ would land the offending player an automatic ban for his next match in any competition and deny him the chance of achieving legendary status as a winner of the first all-Edinburgh cup final since 1896.

A sending-off for the other red card offences such as ‘denying an opponent an obvious goalscoring opportunity’, ‘offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures’ or ‘receiving a second caution in the same match’, are competition-specific dismissals and would result in a league suspension.

Hearts had eight players who negotiated their semi-final triumph over Celtic while they were just a booking away from missing the final, whereas Hibs had just David Wotherspoon to worry about

With the final now just seven days away, both squads will want to avoid picking up any late suspensions for possibly the most eagerly-awaited meeting of the two clubs.

Taken from the Scotsman