Kris Boyd can come out with some quite outlandish takes, to say the least – but his most recent one has seen him take a dig at Aberdeen man Graeme Shinnie.
Shinnie was sent off in last Friday’s clash against Ross County for a tackle which went to VAR, with the midfielder being given his marching orders and a subsequent three-match ban. The Dons appealed the decision as they believed he had won the ball first, but the SFA got back in touch with the side from the Granite City and issued Shinnie with a FURTHER ban for appealing – thus making it four games.
With Michael Beale’s side from across the city set to play Aberdeen this weekend coming, Boyd went on show to state that Aberdeen only appealed the decision because they knew that it would cook up a storm ahead of the second-placed team travelling to Pittodrie this weekend – not for their own benefit.
He told The Scottish Sun: “Aberdeen appealed Graeme Shinnie’s red card knowing they would lose. They only did it to whip up a storm ahead of their big league clash with Rangers at Pittodrie this weekend.
“It was a timely, calculated move by Dons chairman Dave Cormack and new chief executive Alan Burrows, to show the club’s fans they are one of them. To prove they are prepared to take on the powers-that-be at the SFA and stand up for the club, no matter what. I genuinely cannot think of another plausible explanation as to why the Dons decided to fight that decision. Because, I’m sorry, there was just no way in the world Shinnie’s ban was going to be overturned.
“For me, Aberdeen knew that full well. Before they made their decision to appeal, they would have talked to people within the game to get the lie of the land. That’s how it works. They would have asked ex-referees on the quiet – or maybe even current referees – what they thought. They would have reached out to other trusted sources to find out if they had any hope of winning.
“I know I did. I couldn’t believe Aberdeen were appealing the decision, but wondered if I might be missing something. But every single person I talked to said the same thing, the chance of the ban being dismissed was ZERO. It was an open-and-shut case. As obvious and clear as day as they come. Even had it been 50-50, there probably wouldn’t have been any point in arguing against it because, nine times out of ten, the SFA back their officials.
“But this was black and white. There was absolutely no way it was going to be downgraded. So the fact they decided to go ahead with it could only mean one thing. It was grandstanding to the supporters and making a conscious effort to get them onside. What they didn’t bargain for was the SFA doubling down on their decision and then adding to the ban. Shinnie now doesn’t miss three games, he sits out four.”
I can’t quite fathom that that would be the reason for Aberdeen’s reason to appeal, but each to their own, Kris.
