FA set benchmark in fast track justice

The Football Association have shown the SFA how to deal with wrongful dismissals by overturning Conor Sammon’s red card given against Manchester United.

While the SFA enjoy a holiday until January 5 the FA were able to receive Wigan’s appeal against a sending off on December 26, deal with it on December 29 allowing the striker to play on December 31.

In contrast the SFA’s so called Fast Track system has been torn to pieces by Rangers appeal against Lee McCulloch’s sending off against St Mirren on December 24 which will be heard on January 5.

Stewart Regan has certainly embraced social media through his twitter account but has only succeeded in exposing how slow and bureaucratic the SFA are.

Regan initially claimed that the SFA were closed for business despite being able to receive and confirm the appeal from Rangers. Regan later claimed that no one was working in Scottish football on Boxing Day while the SFL ran a full card of fixtures.

Whatever the outcome of the new fast track process it is an improvement on the old committee set up that allowed the increasingly tiresome George Peat to poke his nose in on anything happening at Hampden.

Hopefully Regan will be watching events down south and ensure that this time next year half a dozen men are on stand-by to review incidents during the festive period to ensure that SPL clubs and players get the same sort of justice that the FA have delivered in the case of Sammon.

Reacting to the new of the successful appeal Wigan boss Roberto Martinez said: “I am delighted to have Conor available for the next three matches.

“It would have been really unfair for him to share the frustrating feeling that he had on Monday for another three games after doing nothing wrong.”

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