Dundee boss John Brown has branded the decision to send off Nicky Riley on Saturday against Hearts a “joke” and the club have now appealed the red card.
The winger was involved in a pushing incident with Kevin McHattie in the closing stages of the game, with referee John Beaton deciding Riley’s actions merited an early bath.
With Dundee still tenaciously clinging on to their SPL place, the last thing his manager needs is to be denied Riley’s services through suspension and he has asked the club to lodge an appeal in the hope that the player will be availablefor the crunch match against Aberdeen on Saturday.
However, Brown insists that it is a costly procedure the Dark Blues should not have to go through and it should be the match officials contacting Dundee to admit they got it wrong.
The manager also expressed sympathy for his opposite number at Tannadice Jackie McNamara, who has appealed against Barry Douglas’ red card for what he considered a fair tackle by the full-back on Ross County’s Ivan Sproule last Friday night.
Brown said: “I thought Nicky had raised his arms at the time and there was no doubt about it. But I’ve watched it again and it’s a disgrace to send someone off for that.
“It’s pathetic sending a boy off for what was nothing. It wasn’t even purses, never mind handbags! We’ve appealed but the ref should be the one phoning us up and saying they’ve made a mistake.
“If you are sending people off for that, it’s a joke.”
Brown added: “When you look at that one and also the one Barry Douglas got sent off for on Friday night, it’s a joke. Douglas won the ball it was a great tackle. There’s an art to tackling and he put in a great tackle.
“The officials need to get a grip. Those two red cards were absolute shockers, diabolical. Not a red card in a month of Sundays for either of them.”
Meanwhile, the Dens Park club received a major boost when Gary Harkins returned to training on Tuesday.
The influential midfielder missed the Hearts game after sustaining a rib injury following a training ground accident with keeper Steve Simonsen.
There were fears that Harkins’ season was over but Brown said: “Gary has come back into training. I’m a bit surprised but it’s a boost. It looks as though it might be bruised ribs instead of broken ones.
“We’ll still have to have a look at him but it’s more encouraging than it was a few days ago.”