Hearts captain Steven Naismith 'a lucky boy' after incident with Celtic skipper Scott Brown in cup final

Hearts captain Steven Naismith sparked debate among TV pundits after pictures showed him standing on Celtic captain Scott Brown in an off-the-ball tussle during the Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic.
The incident that sparked debate as Steven Naismith clashes with Scott Brown during the Scottish Cup final at Hampden (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)The incident that sparked debate as Steven Naismith clashes with Scott Brown during the Scottish Cup final at Hampden (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
The incident that sparked debate as Steven Naismith clashes with Scott Brown during the Scottish Cup final at Hampden (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The first half incident did not draw the attention of referee John Beaton, however, it was a hot topic of debate between Chris Sutton and Ally McCoist during the half-time analysis on Premier Sports, with the pair disagreeing over whether Naismith should have been sent off.

McCoist said: "I didn't think it was a red card. He tries to get out the road. I don't think he's deliberately standing on him. I think he's maybe tried to step over him and he's caught him.”

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Sutton took a different view, replying: "He's a lucky boy. It's a red card. You can't stand on somebody. At what point does he try to get out of the road?"

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