Michael Stewart claims what game sparked Hampden ban as former Hearts and Hibs midfielder launches defence
The former Hearts and Hibs midfielder has caught headlines amid a stand-off with the SFA.
Michael Stewart believes his SFA ban from Hampden has stemmed from his view on a VAR decision during Hibs’ win over St Mirren last year.
The former Hearts and Hibs midfielder worked with Premier Sports from a production truck in the national stadium’s car park on Saturday as part of their Scottish Cup semi-final coverage of Dunfermline Athletic vs Falkirk. That ban was then extended to the ‘footprint’ of Hampden and Stewart was omitted from the broadcaster’s coverage of Celtic vs St Mirren the following day. Premier have continued to stand by the outspoken pundit, who’s ban stems from criticisms of referees.
Ex Hearts and Hibs man Stewart feels it has snowballed from the latter’s win over St Mirren in November. David Gray’s team won the game 3-0 but the hosts had a Marcus Fraser strike that would have put them ahead ruled out. VAR official Andrew Dallas told referee David Dickinson it was offside before TV replays displayed a tight call. Stewart insisted a different frame had been used to call the initial decision, stating ‘there’s a mistake been made there and they are trying to cover it up.’
Michael Stewart on Hampden ban
Now responding to the ban on The Premier Sports Social Club, Stewart feels his criticism of the VAR decision has resulted in him being omitted from Hampden by the SFA. He said: “I’m not going to sit here and play some sort of victim because I’m big and ugly enough to take it on my shoulders. But there’s a strain that comes with it, and for everyone else around me as well.
“I take a lot of pride in trying to be straight and honest with my assessment of things. Clearly, that upsets people in power sometimes. Ultimately, I’m not here to appease them. I’m trying to be honest, and I think that’s important. There’s a serious issue here and a dangerous precedent set by the SFA. They see fit to ban me for things that I’ve said.
“There’s a false narrative that’s been peddled claiming there has been over a year of complaints and conversations between the refs and the SFA, who are unhappy by how I’ve approached things. My retort to that would be: why on earth did the SFA not decide to discuss this with their broadcasting partners at Premier Sports?
Why have SFA banned Michael Stewart?
“This spreads from an incident at St Mirren against Hibs, where I saw a mistake — an unbelievable mistake — from a certain official. Since then, there has been a concerted effort from the SFA to try and undermine me. What that showed was there is a system in place, VAR, that isn’t fit for purpose. The SFA came after the BBC and came after Premier and asked for an apology of sorts. Let me be clear: that apology was about the use of ‘cover-up’.
“I was not trying to suggest there is a grand conspiracy here, but a mistake by the officials, and that mistake wasn’t articulated to us. The communication to Premier wasn’t as clear as it could have been, and Premier asked for better communication going forward. I could have used a better word, but they were trying to minimise and mitigate the mistake that was made. I should have articulated that better. There are good referees in this country, but I think there are some who aren’t, and there is weak leadership.
“They didn’t take kindly to the fact I am still being given an opportunity on the broadcasting team on the footprint of Hampden, in the car park. They sent an email to Premier Sports saying they hadn’t followed what had been asked of them — whatever that means — and that I was banned from the car park. Quite simply, it was farcical. The fallout has been petty and pathetic. What sort of country do we live in that an institution sees fit to ban somebody for having an opinion they don’t agree on? Fundamentally, that’s what this is about.
“Everything I have done is out there in the public domain. Premier and myself have asked for better communication for six months. Is it really a tenable position to say ‘we’re not happy’ and not communicate, then you’re banned? That’s not how grown-ups behave. The status quo isn’t tenable, so how do you resolve that? You speak, you communicate. That is what Premier have been doing since October. Everyone else is looking for firm dialogue; why are the SFA not?”
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