The Scottish FA rule on James Wilson's Hearts red card - and the games he will miss after Dundee United loss

Hearts forward James Wilson incurred a two-game suspension as a result of his red card against Dundee United on Sunday. The teenager was dismissed on 39 minutes for a late tackle on United’s Luca Stephenson and will now sit out two matches after triggering an automatic ban.

Referee Nick Walsh issued Wilson a straight red card for serious foul play after he caught Stephenson on the shin in a sliding tackle in midfield. Scottish Football Association rules state that the offence carries a two-game punishment which is specific to the competition involved.

That means Wilson will miss Hearts’ next two Premiership matches but will be available for the Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen at Hampden Park on 19 April. He is banned for Saturday’s trip to Motherwell as Hearts aim to secure a top-six place, and will also sit out the first league fixture after the split.

SFA rules state that a red card for serious foul play triggers a two-match suspension “effective immediately to the league competition where the sending off offence was reported”.

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Hearts head coach Neil Critchley and United manager Jim Goodwin both commented on the incident and stressed that Wilson did not challenge Stephenson with any malice. “I don't think the young lad, Wilson, has meant it by any stretch,” said Goodwin. “I think he's made a genuine attempt for the ball. He did look a little bit fast, he did look a little bit high.

“Luca does have marks on his shin, so I think when the referee puts all that together, it probably is the right outcome. But we don't think for one minute that the young lad has meant to hurt anybody. He's a terrific young talent for Hearts and for Scotland as well, and I'm sure he's got a really bright future ahead of him.”

Critchley explained his thoughts. “At the time I thought it was a real genuine attempt to play the ball. I thought he got something on the ball. I thought it was very harsh at the time,” he remarked. “Having seen it back, you're talking about a fraction, an absolute fraction, being mistimed. He's followed through slightly high. When you go to ground and you slide, there's always going to be a natural coming together, but the referee is right on top of it. In this day and age, if you mistime a tackle, then you give the referee a decision to make. Unfortunately, that decision went against us.

“When this happens, people always then reflect on his age and say, ‘inexperienced, a bit of naivety’. But you could go through the whole football calendar yesterday and there's loads of players getting red cards. No-one mentions a 28-year-old doing that or a 35-year-old doing that. It's because of his age and he will learn from that. That's the process or development you have to go through when you're playing young players. We had to suffer with 10 men, but I thought we did that very well.”

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