Aberdeen boss says club won't appeal red card
Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee says that the Scottish Premier League club will not appeal against the sending-off of defender Rory McArdle in the match against St Johnstone on Saturday 20 November at Pittodrie.
The Dons lost the game 1-0 after defender Zander Diamond put the ball into his own net in the 83rd minute. However, the home side had to play alomost half of the game with ten men after McArdle was sent off in the 48th minute for a two-footed tackle on winger
Cleveland Taylor.
McGhee had initially claimed that the red card was the turning point in the game and had been set to appeal the decision, but after viewing video footage of the tackle, he has decided the the referee may have been correct.
However, the former Motherwell boss still had some words for official Willie Collum, who he claimed should have sent off Saints midfielder Jody Morris for a challenge on Chris Maguire.
McGhee told the Daily Record: "Rory didn't help himself with the way he went into the challenge. One of his legs was very high and went around the St Johnstone player. There was no malice on his part but I can see why the referee felt it was worth a red
card. I still think it was hard on Rory and that a booking would have been enough. But there is no point in appealing.
"It's disappointing because it means he will now miss two games and we'll have to do the best we can to cope without him. It's frustrating Rory was the only one who was actually sent off when you look at some of the other stuff that went on."
The result meant that Aberdeen remained in 11th place, just one point ahead of bottom side Hamilton Academical and two behind St Mirren.
The Dons are scheduled to play Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Saturday 27 November before hosting Celtic, who beat them 9-0 earlier in the season, on 4 December.
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