The 28-year-old forward was sent off following a VAR review of a tackle he made on Sean Goss. Match referee John Beaton initially did not award a free-kick but was instructed to watch the incident back on the pitch-side monitor before opting to order Watt off the pitch. United were furious with the decision, which came just before half-time in their 1-0 defeat at Tannadice, and manager Liam Fox claimed afterwards that Beaton was not able to view enough different angles of the challenge.
“From the footage the referee has seen I would probably agree it looks like a red card,” Fox said on Saturday. “But I have also seen other footage that casts a fair amount of doubt on it. It was a different angle and I see Tony Watt is pulling his leg back and there is very, very little contact with the player. Having seen the footage that the referee and the VAR has seen I could probably say, yes, it is a red card. But I have also seen other footage from different sources that maybe cast a wee bit of doubt over it so it is a bit of a contentious issue.”
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Hide AdUnited will learn whether the appeal has been successful at a fast-track tribunal hearing this Wednesday. Their next match is against Celtic on Saturday in the cinch Premiership at Celtic Park.