As anticipated, Hearts striker Steven MacLean has been cited by the Scottish FA for grabbing Celtic’s Eboue Kouassi by the groin during the League Cup semi-final.
The SFA compliance officer reviewed footage of the incident from Sunday’s match at Murrayfield and the 36-year-old is facing a two-match ban.
The incident which was missed by the match officials took place midway through the first half and McLean subsequently laughed off the mater.
He had already been booked by referee Willie Collum.
The score was 0-0 at the time but Celtic went on to win 3-0 and qualify for the Betfred Cup final against Aberdeen.
An act directed towards the private parts of a player on the field is now being considered an act of “brutality”.
He is free to face Hibs on Wednesday but if found guilty will miss games against Celtic and Kilmarnock.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
