Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell acknowledges similarities between penalties conceded by his side and Rangers at the weekend, but won’t appeal Dan Casey’s red card against St Mirren.
A penalty was awarded and Casey dismissed after the defender blocked Killian Phillips’ shot with Motherwell leading 2-1 at Fir Park.
Goalkeeper Aston Oxborough saved Mark O’Hara’s spot-kick to preserve the win for the Steelmen.
The following day, Rangers defender John Souttar blocked a Mykola Kukharevych’s shot with his hand, and a penalty was awarded, though no card was issued.
Kukharevych’s spot-kick was then saved by Jack Butland, as Rangers ran out 1-0 winners.
While Kettlewell sees similarities between the two incidents, he says Casey will need to take it on the chin and miss this weekend’s trip to face Hibs at Easter Road.
He said: “I was at that game on the Sunday. To the naked eye I didn’t see it, but I was sitting next to the match delegates and the referee supervisor, and those guys sit with earpieces in.
“It’s quite good, you actually get an in-game commentary, so I very quickly realised there was a hand-ball incident.
“I’m asking the question what the differences are in them. There can be that debate in the Rangers game as to whether the goalkeeper’s going to save it or not, and I think that’s the one clear difference between the two.
“Our goalkeeper wasn’t in a position where he was going to save the ball and Dan Casey has gone full-throttle across the goal.
“There were a few things where people were saying he’s come across and deliberately hand-balled it, and I think those of us that were there would acknowledge that he’s not deliberately done it, he has come across, tried to put his chest, face and legs in the way.
“I just feel it was a little bit unfortunate, but not one I’ve had a conversation about and not one that we’ve appealed. We’ve accepted it’s a one-game ban.”
Kettlewell added: “It’s definitely not a deliberate hand-ball, Dan is still adamant, and we have a camera angle where we feel it has come off his body and then onto his arm.
“Is it going in the back of the net if it doesn’t touch him? Yeah, I would acknowledge that it was definitely going to hit the back of the net.
“But, all that said, I’m not finding myself in a position where I’m getting embroiled in trying to dissect the hand-ball rule.
“For me, personally, the two of them looked quite similar in many ways, it looked like the ball potentially could go in the back of the net.
“But we move on from it, Dan has accepted his fate, and knows he’ll not play a part in the game this Saturday.
“We will crash on from there.”
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