Hearts appeal against Findlay red card, claiming 'inconsistency'

Hearts can confirm the club is appealing against Stuart Findlay‘s red card in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by Aberdeen.

The centre-half was shown a straight red in stoppage time following a foul on Toyosi Olusanya inside the penalty box, with Kevin Nisbet scoring the resulting spot kick to secure the Dons’ victory.

“Given our player’s genuine attempt to play the ball, we do not feel that a red card was merited and, as such, will be making that case to the Scottish FA,” Hearts say.

“We note with interest a near identical incident during Motherwell’s win over Hibs yesterday, which resulted in a yellow card for Oscar Preistman, not a red.

“Being forced to highlight the consistency, or lack thereof, in refereeing decisions after only one match of the new Scottish Premiership season is not a situation we wish to find ourselves in.

“However, given the lengthy, worldwide debate around this topic last season, the club feels it is only right to inform our supporters that not only do we share their grievances, we are also taking appropriate action to rectify the matter.

“We trust that, on this occasion, justice will be served.”