Dundee United and Celtic have appealed two of the three red cards handed out to their players during Sunday’s stormy Scottish Cup tie at Tannadice.
United have contested the dismissal of midfielder Paul Paton, claiming a case of mistaken identity, while Celtic would like the SFA compliance officer Tony McGlennan to run the rule over the events which led to central defender Virgil van Dijk’s ordering off.
The pair were dismissed by referee Craig Thomson on the advice of his standside linesman following a melee involving a number of players just 10 minutes into the game.
But Paton was clearly yards from the incident, which was sparked off by a strong tackle from Celtic skipper Scott Brown on United striker Nadir Ciftci, and Jackie McNamara’s side lodged their appeal prior to Monday’s 3pm deadline.
Home defender Calum Butcher was the player who tangled with van Dijk, but the red card handed to his team-mate Paton cannot be transferred retrospectively.
And Celtic followed United’s lead when lodging an appeal of their own against van Dijk’s dismissal, his second ordering off in three games after the Dutchman saw red against Inter Milan in the Europa League earlier this month.
Should the appeal prove unsuccessful, van Dijk will sit out this weekend’s Scottish League Cup final against Dundee United and next week’s replay between the sides at Celtic Park.
And McGlennan could also be called to rule on Ciftci’s part in the fracas. The Turk, who was only cleared to play in the game 48 hours earlier after successfully appealing against a two-game ban for ‘striking’ Inverness defender Gary Warren, could be hit with a violent conduct charge after he appeared to kick out at Brown.
Paul Dixon, the second United player to be sent off for handball in the penalty area, will miss the replay at Celtic Park on Wednesday week but as his two-game ban is ‘competition specific’ the left full-back will be available for Sunday’s Scottish League Cup final at Hampden.
And McGlennan’s workload following the 1-1 draw could be extended if he believes Dundee United forward Aidan Connolly was guilty of simulation when winning his side a penalty, which was converted by Ciftci on the stroke of half-time.
Connolly, son of former Dundee United star Paddy, went down as he attempted to brush past visiting striker Anthony Stokes in the area.
Celtic manager Ronny Deila called it a ‘clear dive’ adding he hoped the authorities would investigate it after one of his players, Derk Boerrigter, was retrospectively banned for simulation earlier in the season.
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