Hibs players rally round Derek Riordan in fight against fine for pitch criticism

A HIBERNIAN squad already disheartened by a run of poor results has been thrown into further turmoil by a dispute between the club and Derek Riordan.

Riordan (pictured) has lodged an appeal against a fine imposed by Hibs for his public criticism of the state of the Easter Road pitch. If the club dismiss that appeal, to be held at a date yet to be determined, the player is prepared to take his case to the SPL.

Most, if not all, of Riordan's team-mates think the striker has been unfairly treated, arguing that any of them might truthfully have made similar comments about the playing surface.

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Their disquiet falls well short of the open revolt made by the squad against former manager John Collins three years ago, and is directed principally at club officials rather than current boss John Hughes, but it is still an unwelcome development at a time when Hibs are fighting to claim a place in European football next season.

Moroccan forward Abdessalam Benjelloun was also fined for saying the Easter Road pitch was poor, but Riordan is understood to have been penalised by a far greater amount. Both players are held to have breached a clause in their contracts which prohibits them from damaging the reputation of the club, with Riordan being fined more because he has contravened that clause before.

Riordan made his remarks at the start of last month, in a media conference to preview a home game against Kilmarnock. The previous match at Easter Road had seen Hibs draw 1-1 with St Johnstone, and the player suggested the pitch had played a part in his team's worsening results.

"I think the pitch has cost us points," he said. "If you look at the chances on Saturday (against St Johnstone], I think the ball got stuck under our feet because it's like a bog. It's horrible. You have to take an extra touch instead of your natural reaction of knowing what you are going to do. You have to wait until the ball settles until you hit it –the pitch is really bad and it's as bad as I've seen in years."

Speaking after Hibs had beaten Kilmarnock 1-0 through a goal scored by Riordan direct from a free-kick, Benjelloun called the pitch "horrendous". The fact he did not dwell on the matter like Riordan is also thought to have played a part in his receiving a smaller fine.

Asked yesterday if he could comment on the affair, Hughes replied: "No. It's internal."

Asked if he thought it would have an effect on Riordan's attitude or form, he said: "Don't think so."

His answer when questioned about what he thought of his club's pitch was slightly longer. "It's all right," he said. "It's not bad.

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"It's good enough to go and play football on it. We're going to Parkhead on Saturday to play Glasgow Celtic – that surface is okay."

Fife Hyland, the club's commercial and communications director, refused to confirm that Riordan had been fined. "Any disciplinary matter is dealt with by the club on an internal and confidential basis," he said. "That has always been the case and always will be."

But that was not the case in August of last year, when the club posted a statement on its website following a weekend incident in which Riordan was refused entry to an Edinburgh nightclub. "Hibernian today confirmed that Derek Riordan has been disciplined by the club following an incident in Edinburgh over the weekend," the statement said.

In his appeal against this latest disciplinary action Riordan is expected to suggest that he could hardly bring Hibs into disrepute by talking about a problem which was visible to everyone who visited the ground. Easter Road has not been regarded as the worst pitch in the SPL this season, but its poor quality was widely discussed in the weeks leading up to the player's comments.

Riordan's dissatisfaction with his treatment over this issue, however, is matched by his employers' growing impatience with him. They cannot officially take offences committed at previous clubs into account, but they are aware that he was also, for example, highly critical of then Celtic manager Gordon Strachan while he was with the Parkhead club. And in February 2008, not long before he lambasted his manager, Riordan was fined by his club for failing to attend a supporters' function.