Hamilton boss calls for video replays after Hearts decisions

Hamilton manager Martin Canning believes it is time to explore ways of using video technology to help referees during games.

Hamilton player/manager Martin Canning saw his side defeated at Tynecastle on Saturday. Picture: SNS

Canning felt his side were denied a clear penalty in their 3-1 defeat against Hearts on Saturday when Dougie Imrie clashed with Igor Rossi, and were wrongly penalised when Sam Nicholson went down in the Accies box under the challenge of Shaun Want.

The Accies boss also admitted Want was fortunate not to give away a penalty when he brought down Tony Watt, only for the hearts striker to be booked for diving by referee Craig Thomson.

Canning said: “I spoke to the referee afterwards and he said, if he’s got it wrong, he will apologise. I spoke after the Kilmarnock game when their player should have been sent off for a second yellow and he apologised and said ‘listen, I got it wrong’. Apologies are nice to hear but they don’t get us any points.

“The game is quicker now. The players are going at a speed. Unless you’ve played the game, it’s difficult to understand when you are going that quick how much contact can actually put you off balance and bring you down. It doesn’t need a lot.

“I don’t know what you do about it, it’s a difficult one. I know they do it in tennis, where you can challenge a decision. Maybe it’s a good idea and it would stop that if you could maybe have one challenge a half?

“After the game, it’s all very well saying ‘sorry, I got it wrong’ or getting a call through the week, saying ‘listen, I made a bad decision there’. But can we maybe do something about it at the time? Especially now when there is so much at stake.

“You would think it’s a progression, the way things are going with technology involved in sport, but it’s difficult to get it in because football has been played the same way for the last goodness knows how many years.”

Meanwhile, Canning revealed Dan Seaborne will miss Saturday’s Lanarkshire derby against Motherwell with the injury that forced him off at Tynecastle, but Michael Devlin is fit again to take his place.

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