Hibs will not fight Pat Fenlon ban for cup final gesture

By IAIN COLLIN
Published on 16/06/2012 01:29

HIBERNIAN have ruled out an appeal against the four-match ban handed down to manager Pat Fenlon for gesturing to Hearts fans during last month’s embarrassing Scottish Cup final defeat.

At a Hampden hearing on Thursday, the Irishman was found guilty by the SFA of ‘misconduct’ after being sent to the stand by referee Craig Thomson just moments from the full-time whistle in the 5-1 hammering on 19 May.

The 43-year-old appeared to react in frustration to the gibes of the Gorgie support, who mockingly sung ‘there’s only one Pat Fenlon’ as the Jambos romped to the trophy.

Immediately after the game, Fenlon denied aiming the insult at the Tynecastle following and instead insisted he had made the gesture “in relation to the way we were playing”.

He also claimed he was unsure why he had been sent to the stand by Thomson, who had angered Hibs by awarding a penalty and sending off Pa Kujabi early in the second half with the score still at 2-1, adding: “He was the last person I wanted to speak to.”

However, the former Bohemians boss has been hit with a four-game touchline ban, two of which are suspended, for breaching disciplinary rule 203, which governs “continued use of offensive, abusing and/or insulting language and/or behaviour, calling a match official a cheat and/or calling a match official’s integrity into question; failure to comply with a match official’s requests; adoption of aggressive behaviour towards a match official; any racist, sexist, sectarian and/or otherwise discriminatory element; and the degree of any physical violence”.

Despite Fenlon denying the offence at the time, it is understood from sources at the club that Hibs have accepted the SFA’s decision and will not contest it.