Hearts received some good news tonight when it was announced that Larry Kingston’s three-match ban is to be reduced to two.
Kingston got himself into serious hot water when, after being sent off at Pittodrie last season, he accused referee Steve Conroy of being a racist.
The SFA were always going to take a dim view on such an accusation and in the end I reckon a two match ban is probably quite lenient. On this rare occasion, Hearts really should be grateful to those on the appeal panel, although relative to the punishments dealt out to other players for more serious offences (for example Neil Lennon), it’s pretty much in line.
Hopefully this is now the end of the matter and Larry can now look forward to his football with Hearts this season.
Share this article
Related Articles
Must say I’m a bit surprised by this verdict… I expected the ban to be upheld or even increased. I expect the fact that he apologised publically & privately, has gone out of his way to be courteous and fair in all subsequent matches, and the fact that it was a heat-of-the-moment incident all counted in his favour. We’ll struggle without him, but like you say, hopefully he can put it all behind him now. Maybe we’ll get to see a midfield pairing of Ruben and Mickey Stewart for the Hibs & Aberdeen games… think that could work.
Bearing in mind that the opposition will be poor in those games, then yes Hearts should be able to manage without Kingston. All depends how the team is set up and coached, though. We have to hope that they start clicking soon as from what I’ve seen and heard of the pre-season matches, we’ve been below par at best.