Maybury has no case to answer

Published on Tuesday 24 February 2004 00:00

HEARTS defender Alan Maybury was yesterday told he had no case to answer after being accused of lashing out at Hibs player Scott Brown during the recent Edinburgh derby.

The Irishman was the subject of a specially-convened three-man Scottish Football Association video review panel which sat at Hampden yesterday, but he was cleared of any wrong-doing. The incident occurred in a league clash between Hibs and Hearts nine days ago at Easter Road, and was missed by referee Mike McCurry at the time. Maybury and his club feared being summoned to a disciplinary committee meeting next month but yesterday’s news confirmed the matter as now closed.

"The SFA video review panel today discussed an incident involving Alan Maybury in last week’s match against Hibernian," said a statement released by the SFA yesterday. "After viewing a video of the incident, the three panel members decided that the player has no case to answer, as the incident did not constitute ‘misconduct of a significantly serious nature’ in line with the SFA disciplinary procedures. There will therefore be no further action in this case."

The fact the television pictures were not conclusive favoured Maybury, with the evidence judged not damning enough to warrant further action. The panel of three chosen to sit in judgment must remain anonymous due to SFA legislation.

The Rangers player Fernando Ricksen was not so fortunate after he was caught elbowing the Hibs striker Derek Riordan when the teams met in the CIS Insurance Cup semi-final at Hampden earlier this month. As well as being fined 10,000 by his club, the video review panel also ordered the Dutchman to appear before the disciplinary committee on 16 March.