Hearts have demanded answers from the SFA as to why Cammy Devlin was sent off in Saturday’s Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Aberdeen at Hampden.
The combative Australian midfielder was shown a second yellow card deep into extra-time after catching Dante Polvara slightly late as Hearts attempted to clear their lines.
Already booked for a foul on Pape Gueye when the Aberdeen man had been offside, Devlin was given his marching orders by referee John Beaton.
However, it is the two yellow cards shown to Devlin that Hearts have taken issue with, Aberdeen scoring the winner just moments after he had gone off the field.
The Tynecastle club are furious with the number of perceived refereeing mistakes that have cost them in a season which saw them fail to finish in the top six.
Referee John Beaton showed Cammy Devlin two yellow cards at Hampden on Saturday
John Beaton also sent off Michael Steinwender in Hearts’ semi-final defeat by Aberdeen
Hearts boss Neil Critchley said Beaton had refused to engage in any dialogue at full-time
While still insisting they are keen to work constructively with the SFA, sources at Tynecastle have indicated that the club could well review their position at the end of the campaign and are also considering whether they wish to support VAR moving forward.
A club statement last night read: ‘Now that the dust has settled on Saturday’s Scottish Cup semi-final, everyone at Heart of Midlothian Football Club would like to say thank you to our supporters. Your backing is never taken for granted, particularly when it has been a challenging, and ultimately disappointing, season.
‘To have nearly 22,000 Jambos inside Hampden Park was an incredible feat, and your support undoubtedly inspired the team on the pitch to battle until the very end, where, against all odds, it looked as if the players had earned the opportunity to take the match to penalty kicks, and deservedly so.
‘While we give credit to Aberdeen for making the most of their opportunity in the 118th minute to win the tie, we take issue with the refereeing decision immediately preceding it.
‘It is the club’s view that neither yellow card issued to Cammy Devlin in the match was warranted and we should not have been put in the position of having to finish the game with nine men, which directly affected the outcome.
‘Saturday came on the back of other decisions this season that have also not gone in our favour.
‘It is often quoted that errors generally balance themselves out across a season.
‘However, a cursory glance at the KMI Review Panel published reports show that we have benefitted once from errors in our favour — the joint second lowest in the Premiership — and have suffered four errors against — the joint second highest in the Premiership.
‘Public silence on our part should not be mistaken for inaction. Throughout the season we have maintained dialogue with the Scottish FA on these matters, and while we always prefer to air our grievances in private, on this occasion, given the magnitude of the occasion that was a Scottish Cup semi-final and what was at stake, we believe that the club and, most importantly, its supporters deserve better.
‘Once again, we will engage with the Scottish FA in an attempt to understand why these decisions are made, see acknowledgement as to when they are indeed wrong and determine what can be done to learn from them to ensure that they are not repeated.’
Hearts boss Neil Critchley was angry that Beaton refused to engage in any sort of dialogue or conversation at full-time. Under growing pressure from fans as a miserable season nears its conclusion, Critchley accused the referee of a lack of respect.
Admitting that this season simply hasn’t been up to scratch, the Hearts statement added: ‘When circumstances are under our control we will do our best to act appropriately.
‘The club has recently publicly declared that this season has not been good enough and it is our intention not to see it repeated.
‘When circumstances are outwith our control, such as refereeing decisions, then our supporters should know that be it publicly or privately, we will always challenge for the benefit of the club and its fans, because as owners, they deserve to have their voices heard.
‘Again, we thank our supporters for their unrivalled backing, not just on Saturday but across the entire season. We look forward to welcoming them to Tynecastle Park this weekend as we all strive to finish this campaign as strongly as possible.’
