Steven Naismith has escaped punishment for a stamp on Scott Brown in the Scottish Cup Final on Sunday. The Hearts captain appeared to deliberately leave his boot on the Celtic skipper’s knee as the teams played out a tense final. John Beaton appeared to miss the challenge as the play went on; however, it was expected that the SFA’s Compliance Officer would cite Naismith for the incident.
However, as reported by the Daily Record, Naismith has been remarkably cleared for the incident. The former Rangers attacker also elbowed Brown, earning a yellow card from John Beaton. Although the incident that merited strict action occurred before Celtic took the lead and Naismith fouled Brown with a late tackle, prompting Beaton to give a free-kick. Albeit, the referee missed the afters as Naismith turned back towards Brown and stamped down on his knee.
Hearts players seemed to take their defeat quite poorly with attempts to start on Scott Brown throughout the final as well as at the final whistle. It was a tough final but for the second year in a row, Hearts became two-in-a-row Scottish Cup Final losers. Celtic, and their captain, sealed the win and with it the Quadruple Treble.
