Nadir Ciftci, Virgil Van Dijk and Paul Paton all cleared by SFA panel

The SFA were in charitable mood, with all three of the Dundee United and Celtic players facing suspensions walking away from Hampden with their names cleared.

Nadir Ciftci and Paul Paton both won their appeals, as did Hoops’ defender Virgil van Dijk.

Paton’s was a formality. It was an obvious case of mistaken identity.

Van Dijk’s is probably the most significant, as he will now be able to face United in the League Cup final.

It will be a huge boost for Ronny Deila to have arguably his best defender in his line-up at Hampden.

The decision by the SFA’s compliance officer to not take retrospective action against Parkhead skipper Scott Brown means the influential spine of the Celtic team is still intact.

Ciftci will still be suspended for the final, but he will now be able to play when the two sides meet in the Scottish Cup replay next midweek.

It is the second appeal he has won in recent weeks after facing a retrospective charge following the Inverness Caledonian Thistle league game.

For more on this story, see Friday’s Courier.