Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara has ridiculed the SFA’s ruling on Paul Paton, saying the decision has proved that it is “pantomime season.”
McNamara may have chosen a festive theme to describe the governing body’s decision to find his player guilty of spitting at Anberdeen’s Jonny Hayes but there was nothing merry about the mood at the club’s training base in St Andrews.
The decision by the SFA’s judicial panel has robbed McNamara of the player for tomorrow’s massive Premiership game against Celtic and he will also miss the matches at St Johnstone a week today and the January 1 showdown with Dundee, with one of the suspensions a result of breaching the disciplinary points threshold.
With Hayes doing himself and his club a lot of credit by stating on social media site Twitter that Paton was not guilty of the charge, McNamara was keen to thank him and the Dons for trying to help.
However, the Tannadice gaffer didn’t miss the SFA and dismissed as “flawed” a disciplinary process that does not take into account the fact that the supposed victim has said the alleged perpetrator is innocent.
“What can I say without landing myself in trouble?” stated McNamara.
“I will start by thanking Derek McInnes, Aberdeen and Jonny Hayes for coming out and defending a fellow player.
“I am very pleased with the way they dealt with it and they deserve a lot of credit for what they have done.
“I don’t know how they (the SFA) can find him guilty but there are no grounds for appeal.
“It is not the fact that he will be missing from the team that matters most, it is that it’s a slight on him.
“If one of our player had spat on someone I would be the first to come down on them hard because it’s one of the worst things to do to someone.
“As was said in our statement, though, no one else could see it, even the players who were playing against him.
“If a player thought someone had spat on them they would have wanted to retaliate, shall we say.
“So I don’t know how they can come to that conclusion, that he spat on him, from the video evidence when, clearly, there is no evidence to support it.
“We have checked it all.”
The United boss confirmed that Paton is furious and questioned the legitimacy of the whole disciplinary process.
He said: “Pates himself is angry at the suggestion.
“The biggest thing is that it stops the lad from playing football.
“It is his livelihood but he is missing three games now at a stage in the season that’s crucial.
“He is getting punished by a system that’s flawed.
“Where do you draw the line?
“For example, how did this come to their attention in the first place? Was it someone watching on the telly who has thought, ‘He’s spat on him there’?
“And the fact there are no grounds for appeal, that we can’t do anything about it and just have to accept it because on that day they have deemed it to be something that they saw but no one else could see, is very disappointing.
“We can’t question them but they are wrong, 100% wrong.
“Obviously, we are very angry with the outcome.
“We were laughing the other day about it being pantomime season and it has proven to be the case.”
McNamara stressed that United are solidly behind their player and, even though now they will soldier on without being able to appeal the ruling, they are defiant that Paton has been badly wronged.
“The club have backed him because he is innocent,” added McNamara.
“We can only do so much and there are a lot of things we can’t say because I will end up in the stand as well, missing games.
“It is really disappointing and we have no trust or faith in the system.
“It has been said before about other decisions but this is the worst.”
As well as being without Paton for the visit of the Hoops, there is still a doubt over hamstring injury victim Keith Watson.
McNamara said: “It is a blow for me not to have Paul but we also have other injuries and problems.
“Keith isn’t fit at the moment and I would describe him as touch and go for Sunday.”