Referee explains Hearts penalty call at Motherwell - plus the latest on Craig Halkett and Marc Leonard

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes revealed referee Steven McLean’s explanation for denying the visitors a penalty at Motherwell. McInnes was unhappy with the decision and said he felt the official had a poor night during the 1-1 draw at Fir Park.

Stephen Kingsley’s own goal gave Motherwell the lead before Lawrence Shankland levelled the scoreline before half-time. Kyziridis had his foot clipped by Tawanda Maswanhise inside the hosts’ penalty area on 66 minutes, but after a VAR touchline review referee Steven McLean decided there was no infringement.

McInnes spoke to McLean at full-time to find out why he did not point to the penalty spot. “He said there was contact but not enough contact,” stated McInnes. The Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou agreed with McLean’s decision. He admitted there was contact. “But not enough to drop yourself to the ground like that and make it the worst tackle in the history of football,” said the Danish coach.

Hearts are also reeling from the loss of key players Marc Leonard and Craig Halkett. They both suffered serious Achilles injuries and will be missing for a significant period of time, McInnes confirmed.

McInnes was steadfast in his view when asked about the penalty claim. “Yeah, I'm adamant it is. I’ve seen it again. I thought it was at the time,” said the Hearts manager. “Greg Aitken has done his job really well tonight. He does what he should do as VAR and brings the referee over to monitor. And we were shocked because obviously we've only got the monitor we can look back at a few times, but it's the same angle.

“Obviously I've seen it again from the Sky angles as well. So the explanation I got was: ‘Yes, there's contact, but there's not enough contact.’ Now anybody who's played football knows that Kyziridis is sprinting four or five yards off the mark shot. He doesn't need to say a lot. Why would he go down? It's a short corner we try to work and he's been caught. It's a penalty kick. And it's such a pivotal moment. It's a huge moment.

“I thought the referee had a poor night tonight. We're all guilty of having poor nights. I've had millions of them but he had a poor night tonight. I didn't think he looked settled the whole game. And I think that penalty kick incident was a huge moment. I feel as though the VAR bringing him over to monitor was 100 per cent the right decision and it should have been a penalty kick.”

McInnes pointed out he was more disappointed than angry and praised his players for going at Motherwell in the second half. “You want me to be really angry? I'm disappointed in the decision but it's actually done now. I've got to move on from it,” he said. “You've asked my opinion on it. I think it's a penalty but we can’t dwell on it. The game comes round again.

“You know, a lot was made about the [Landry] penalty at Tynecastle against Motherwell. A lot of conjecture, a lot of people's opinions. It was clear it was a penalty kick, that the boy kicked him in the head after a challenge. It was brought up again this week. For whatever reason, we go into the game last week at Rangers and the manager was calling for a strong referee against Hearts.

“We understand that when it gets to the stage of the season, every decision can be pivotal. Every team selection I pick, every performance is pivotal. And I take comfort in the fact that my team still played to win. This Motherwell team are such a good side. This is a difficult place to come. And, you know, in normal circumstances, it's not the worst result. It isn't really the worst result in the sense that if somebody had said to us, going into the post-fixtures, you'd have seven points from Easter Road, Rangers and Motherwell away, you'd have grabbed that because that's good shooting.

“You're accumulating points as you go along. Yes, we came to get three. We wanted three and we played to get three. And that's the good thing about the team. I think you can see why Motherwell have been so good this season and had so many plaudits, rightly so. A well-coached, managed team, good players. But I think you can also see why we are where we are. The fight and the spirit of the team. Despite the difficulties, we're losing two key players. Despite kind of being patched up in midfield a wee bit, we needed our bodies in there and we've kept trying to find a way to win the game.

“Other than the penalty decision, have we done enough to win it? Maybe not. I thought Motherwell were good in the first half, first 25, 30 minutes. I thought they were brighter than us. But I don't think they really work my goalkeeper. The goal we lose is disappointing because we've got bodies there. You could say from their point of view, they're right wing-back is across the near post and you think: ‘Good on them for positive play, getting where they should.’ We should deal with it because we've got enough bodies there. It's not as if we're stretched.

“The response was good. Obviously, Lawrence had a big chance at the start of the game. And they managed to save it off the line. But the response was good. The equaliser for Lawrence is just what he does. It’s a proper captain performance again so we’re good. We'll dust ourselves down. We're in tomorrow. We'll see how we are in terms of fitness. We'll train the boys. Harry Milne will train tomorrow, ready for Wednesday, hopefully.”

Hearts welcomed back Cammy Devlin from injury as a late substitute after losing both Leonard and Halkett. “Cammy was only down to play for 10 or 15 minutes, tops. When Marc Leonard comes off, you kind of think: ‘Get Cammy on.’ It’s like for like but we had to makeshift a wee bit. Kyziridis was brave when he came on. We wanted to get him on the outside. It was always my intention to get him on after about an hour. I thought both teams tried to win the game. And good on Motherwell and good on us for trying to find a way to win it.”

Expanding on Halkett and Leonard’s injuries, McInnes offered some detail and admitted both injuries are serious. “Both Achilles injuries. Both significant time out, I think. Both were leaving on crutches. I've had one player in my whole time do that - Big Marvin Elliott at Bristol City. I can remember it happening. I've been managing 18 years or so now and I've never had another Achilles injury with a player. That's two in the one game, which is so unusual.

“I don't know. I need to see it again. I think he [Leonard] got a slight nudge forward and there was a coming together. I don't think you can put any blame on that. Obviously, you have to contend with severe injuries. I looked at the boys that turned up tonight in their big jackets, sitting in the stand behind us. What a team that would be. That team would qualify for Europe. Then we've got another two, Halkett and Marc. Both have been brilliant this season but we're going to have to deal with these final two games without them.”